Hot in Winter, Canada’s Ontario Keeps North American iGaming Fires Burning


Canada’s recently-regulated Ontario has reaffirmed its position as the fourth richest iGaming and sports betting market in North America by posting a hot handle of over CAN$6 billion (£3.87bn/US$4.37bn/€4.45bn) for the second quarter, ending September 30, of its very first (2022/23) financial year.

This translated into impressive revenue of CAN$267 million (£172.5m/US$194.54m/€198.3m), excluding promotional bets, during Q2 for Canada’s most populous province, where iGaming was only formally regulated and legalised on April 4 this year.

Overall, stakes were nearly 50 per cent up on the CAN$4.07 billion (£2.63bn/US$2.97bn/€3.02bn) wagered in the first quarter, while revenue rose by over 60 per cent — according to a just-released financial summary by iGaming Ontario, a subsidiary of the regulatory Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).

With such riches on offer, not surprisingly, the number of licensed operators in the province, quarter-to-quarter, increased to 24 from 18 and gaming websites also expanded, from 31 to 42.

The number of Active Player Accounts, correspondingly, surged to 628,000 from 492,000, with average spend-per-player also growing from CAN$113 (£73/US$82.5/€84) in the opening trimester to CAN$142 (£91.7/US$103.6/€105.5).

Ace for Xace

Meantime, with the AGCO’s stated aim of creating and maintaining a competitive, profitable, socially responsible and well-regulated iGaming regime well on track, Xace, a gaming-focused banking and payment provider, has announced its launch in the nation.

Operating as Xace.ca, the company has legally registered with FINTRAC, the Canadian regulator, as a licenced Money Services Business, which will now allow it to operate in the booming Ontario iGaming market.

The money brand, which already has a number of top gaming operators as clients, says its North American expansion is a huge step forward.

Customers operating in Canada, or with Canadian Dollars, can now easily facilitate their global and local action by accessing a basket of hard currencies: be they US dollars, Euros or pounds Sterling.

“Pushing boundaries and being at the forefront of global gaming payments is the main goal of Xace,” said CEO David Hodkinson.

As for many other eco-gaming operators, Canada has become a hot ticket for the company.

One hopes that Ontario’s iGaming fire keeps burning throughout the cold economic winter ahead.

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