As per estimated data on the online gaming industry in Ontario, this province is a pioneer in bringing the ringed-in poker revenue compared to other regions in North America. Although not the largest online gaming domestic market, with $1.5 billion bet on poker this year by players in Ontario, the level of interest and engagement of the local players for this type of game demonstrates the size of the population niche.
According to Martha Otton, the Executive Director at iGaming Ontario, the sector has had positive developments. Two years later, a more holistic view of betting, casinos, and poker segments emerged in the Ontario gambling ecology. Currently, there is a significant rise in various popular online casino games in Canada, which include blackjack, poker, table games, and more. Otton was optimistic about the future of Ontario gaming, given that the Government is investing money and attempting to understand players’ needs.
Recent empirical findings, carried out by IPSOS for the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and iGaming Ontario, uncover intriguing tendencies about gaming patterns among Ontario residents. The research reveals that the popularity of licensed websites among players is rising prominently, with the provincial gaming sites used by 86% of appreciators at the moment. This survey uncovers widespread patterns of players’ behavior in Ontario, emphasizing the increasing popularity of opting for controlled and regulated ones.
The breakdown of demographic information on online gamblers indicates a definite disparity among male gamblers, with 64.5% of men reporting they gambled on regulated sites in the past three months compared to 35.5% of women. The largest age group that participates in online gambling is between 35 and 54 years old and makes up 42.5% of all players. Consequently, the survey showed that 38.7% of the participants belong to the age bracket of 19 to 34, and 18.8% belong to the age bracket of over 55.
Regarding education, the group of online gamblers with a university degree is the largest, given that this group accounts for up to 38.1% of online gamblers. On top of that, one’s income level also affects joining these activities; a 52.5% usage rate of people earning up to $75,000 is higher, compared to 47.5% of high earners who used online gambling sites in the past three months.
About 35.2% of participants have played online in the last 12 months, and 20.3% of the players played in the previous 30 days.
Since its launch in April 2022, the Ontario-regulated iGaming market has rapidly ascended to become sixth globally in gross gaming revenue, as shown by Vixio, a global regulatory intelligence company. Such growth has attracted the attention of Alberta officials, who are now considering establishing their own regulated online gaming system for their province.
Such an emerging sector not only exemplifies the keen interest of gamblers in regulated online gaming in Ontario but also creates a benchmark for other provinces considering adopting online gaming regulation to crystallise this market’s potential.
