Ontario’s legal online gaming market officially launched at 12AM local time today, Monday 4th, 2022 with as many as 13 operators approved and ready for launch at that time.
Following the legalization of single event sports betting in Canada, provincial governments were given the power to self-regulate both sports betting and online casino gaming in their jurisdictions. In the wake of this decision, Ontario immediately made plans to establish a regulated iGaming market. This included the formation of iGaming Ontario, a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).
By September of 2021, the AGCO began accepting applications from iGaming suppliers and operators for approval to operate in the province – aiming to cash in on a portion of the estimated 19.3 million Canadian gamblers.
The process moved along swiftly and a launch date of April 4th was set.
According to the latest list released by iGaming Ontario, the sites approved for launch at 12AM on April 4th were as follows:
| iGaming Operator | Website | Launch Date |
|---|---|---|
| 888 | 888casino.ca 888poker.ca 888sport.ca |
April 4th 2022 |
| bet365 | on.bet365.ca | April 4th 2022 |
| BetMGM | Casino.on.BetMGM.ca Poker.on.BetMGM.ca Sports.on.BetMGM.ca |
April 4th 2022 |
| Rush Street Interactive | BetRivers.ca | April 4th 2022 |
| Caesars | Sportsbook.Caesars.com | April 4th 2022 |
| CoolBet | Coolbet.ca | April 4th 2022 |
| FanDuel | FanDuel.com/Canada | April 4th 2022 |
| LeoVegas | LeoVegas.com | April 4th 2022 |
| PointsBet | PointsBet.ca | April 4th 2022 |
| Rivalry | Rivalry.com | April 4th 2022 |
| Royal Panda | RoyalPanda.com | April 4th 2022 |
| theScore | theScore.bet | April 4th 2022 |
| Unibet | on.Unibet.ca | April 4th 2022 |
iGaming Ontario expects the number of approved gambling operators (casino & sportsbetting) to grow to at least 30 over the coming weeks.
Based in London, Natasha is a former sports journalist with experience working for some of the biggest athletes & brands in the world of sports and iGaming.