How Ontario's online gambling industry is faring 3 years into legalization
CBC
Three years after legalization, Ontario's online gambling and sports betting industry is booming, but some experts say there's cause for concern around how gaming is marketed.
PowerPlay, an international gambling website licensed under the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), has expanded very successfully into the province over the last three years, Bill O'Brien, a sports book manager at PowerPlay, told CBC Toronto.
"Everyone always knew Ontario … was a market with huge potential," O'Brien said. "But it has surpassed what anyone kind of expected it to be."
He pointed to iGaming Ontario's 2023-2024 annual report, which showed Ontario residents wagered almost $63.3 billion and generated $2.2 billion in total gaming revenue in the second year since the market has been in operation. Those figures represent 78 per cent and 75 per cent increases respectively over the first year. iGaming Ontario is expected to publish its 2024-2025 findings after its fiscal year ends at the end of March.
The industry has also had a positive impact on the provincial economy, O'Brien said.
"The second full year of legalized sports betting contributed something like 15,000 jobs and … $2.7 billion to Ontario's GDP," he said.
Those figures come from a Deloitte report, commissioned by iGaming Ontario.
"That was only the second year. Like, that's just going to get bigger and bigger," O'Brien said.
But while the sector grows, advocates like Bruce Kidd worry about the negative impacts it can have on the public.
Kidd is the co-chair of the Ban Ads for Gambling campaign.
"There has been an explosion of … in our view, unregulated ads, which have led to a huge increase in gambling, sports betting and related addictions," he told CBC Toronto.
The AGCO does have a number of restrictions on how internet gaming is marketed, most geared toward protecting minors.
Last year, the AGCO also banned the use of professional athletes and restricted the use of celebrities that appeal to minors in online gambling advertising.
Kidd, however, wants to see the ads banned entirely.
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