Report shows 85% of players in Ontario are using regulated websites

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario commissioned a study that found only 14.7% of wagers were placed on illegal sites.

A recent survey conducted by Ipsos, commissioned by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and iGaming Ontario, revealed that over 85.3% of players in Ontario are utilizing regulated sites. The report, conducted a year after the introduction of Ontario’s open internet gaming market, highlights the province’s achievement in transitioning players from unregulated to regulated sites that adhere to Ontario’s rigorous standards of game fairness and player safeguarding.

“The considerable success the province has had shifting players from gambling on unregulated sites to regulated sites that comply with Ontario’s high standards of game integrity and player protections.”

Ipsos conducted the report by surveying 1,850 Ontario residents aged 19 and above between February 28 and March 13. The survey disclosed that 85.3% of respondents who had gambled online within the province in the last three months had placed their bets on a regulated website. Out of this percentage, 19.5% had placed bets on both legal and illegal sites, while 14.7% had wagered on illegal sites.

At present, Ontario has 45 live operators, and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has sanctioned more than 5,000 certified games for use in the province.

Ontario igaming wagers hit $26.5bn in first year

Within a year of its launch, the new legal iGaming market in Ontario has generated CAD$35.6bn ($26.5bn) in wagers and around $1.4bn in gaming revenue, positioning the Canadian province in the top five iGaming jurisdictions in North America, as per iGaming Ontario (iGO).

According to the report, basketball was the most popular sport to bet on, accounting for 28% of all betting wagers, followed by soccer at 15%, football at 14%, hockey at 9%, and baseball at 8%.

The data reveals that in the online casino category, approximately 48% of all wagers were placed on slots, nearly 32% on table games with a live dealer, and the remaining 19% on computer-based table games.