Nearly one year after sports betting was legalized in Canada, Ontarians wagered more than $11.5 billion on sports gambling in the fiscal quarter ending Dec. 31, 2022, an increase of 91 percent over the previous quarter.
In the previous third quarter, ranging from July 1 to Sept. 30, Ontarians bet a total of $6 billion, resulting in a total net revenue of $267 million. The number of Ontarians placing sports bets also grew significantly, rising from 628,000 active players in the third quarter to 910,000 in the fourth, an increase of 45 percent.
Since sports betting first became legal in Ontario in April 2022, the province has had over $21.6 billion in total wagers, totalling $886 million in total gaming revenue. It was estimated that the province would bring in $800 million in revenue in 2022.
Prior to April 4, 2022, Canadians could only legally bet on sports through parlays or on horse racing. But in June the previous year, the House of Commons passed Bill C-218, a private member’s bill to amend Criminal Code provisions around gambling on single sports games.
Bill C-218 allows each province to determine how they regulate sports betting, including who is authorized to bet and the types of bets permitted. While Ontario has 36 regulated sports betting operators, the other nine only allow single-sports betting through versions of their respective provincial lottery corporations.
