Ontario’s iGaming Blueprint Shows Continued Success in October

Ontario’s experiment in iGaming continues to produce rewards, as October yet again set a new record. Gross gaming revenue came in at $261 million USD, up 12% from last month. But when compared with $189 USD in October 2024, it was up a very healthy 38%.

The province took a very laissez-faire approach to regulation, with the intention of bringing in many former grey market operators into the legal, regulated, and taxed fold. This has resulted in more than 40 licensees and just over 80 actual iGaming sites for its population of just over 16 million.

With an initial licensing fee of just $100,000 CAD (71,000 USD) and a tax rate of 20% of Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR), it’s not hard to see why so many operators would have chosen to make the leap, but that isn’t to say that the province just kicked open the doors.

Their compliance rules are some of the toughest in North America. They require an ongoing certification from the Responsible Gaming Council, and every site has to have mandated tools for setting responsible gaming limits on things like deposits, loss, and time.

They also enforce strict advertising limits. In fact, they don’t allow operators to mention bonuses or free spins in advertising at all, only on the actual casino site or in pre-opted-in email. They also restrict who can advertise iGaming, ruling out any celebrities, media influencers, or sports stars who might seem to appeal to minors.

Perhaps intentionally, all of this competition also ensures that the Ontario online casinos that thrive here are the ones offering the best player experience, whether that is customer service, bonuses and reinvestment, or Return To Player (RTP) percentages on their actual games. This, perhaps more than the low tax rates or rules and regulations, is what has driven the renaissance in iGaming over the past several years, as dozens of casinos competed to win over players and market share.

This may also explain the strong growth in player accounts, which stands at 1.28 million this October vs. just 945 thousand a year ago. That’s a 36% jump in just one year. Average revenue per player stayed flat, however, at $203 vs $200. But that may be more of a feature than a bug when viewed by regulators who perhaps worry about a rapidly growing loss per user per month.

The handle, or total amount wagered, also showed very strong growth from $5.3 billion last year to almost $6.6 billion last month, or just over 24%. Dozens of active casino operators, total wagers, and active player numbers increasing by double digits, all while keeping average player loss numbers mostly flat, have to be seen as a success by both the legislators in Toronto and the population at large.

Ontario’s bold experiment in aggressive licensing but strict social responsibility is creating a case study for US states as they eye entry into the iGaming market over the next few years. By driving operators to compete on quality and value while hiding promotional spending, they have seen explosive growth without increasing social costs.

By keeping both taxes and license fees low, they have made it much harder for grey market offshore sites to have a reason not to become licensed, while that same competition that drives operator excellence also ensures that unlicensed casinos are unlikely to be able to compete just on price. Ontario continues to prove that consumer protection and commercial prosperity don’t have to be mutually exclusive.