As Canada’s gaming market continues its digital transformation, the success of Ontario’s competitive online gaming sector is raising questions about whether
As Canada’s gaming market continues its digital transformation, the success of Ontario’s competitive online gaming sector is raising questions about whether other provinces can replicate its model. With Alberta recently approving a framework for competitive remote gambling, insights from industry leaders, including Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) President and CEO Paul Burns, suggest that while the path is clear, significant provincial adoption remains slow.
Ontario launched Canada’s first competitive online gaming market in April 2022. Three years later, Alberta’s legislature approved the iGaming Alberta Act on May 7, 2025, establishing a framework for a similarly regulated market in that western province. However, the broader uptake to competitive iGaming across the rest of Canada has been gradual. The majority of the eight other provinces currently maintain state-funded online gaming or lottery offerings, reminiscent of the Scandinavian monopoly model. While some Nordic nations have liberalised online gambling, Norway notably remains the only one yet to do so, though its politicians have recently called for an end to its gambling monopoly.
The monopoly model has long faced criticism from industry trade bodies in the Nordics, with common complaints citing the unfair competitive advantage afforded to monopoly operators and a lack of competitive options for consumers. A more pressing concern, however, is the proliferation of unlicensed gambling operators and the inherent lack of consumer protection within a monopoly market.
Paul Burns, President and CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association, asserts that the black market’s rise in Canada has been so prominent that the monopoly model effectively “no longer exists.” He states, as reported by iGaming Times, that “Because of the large unregulated market presence in Canada, no one’s had a monopoly for 25 years, and that’s the reality.” Burns has been a vocal advocate for other provincial governments to follow in Ontario’s footsteps. He observes, as reported by iGaming Times, that “Canadians have gone to online sites for a decade or more and had access to all kinds of products and choice.” Burns argues that the monopoly model “no longer exists,” and that provincial governments “have the tools” to regulate.
The Canadian Gaming Association has urged the remaining unregulated provinces to take action and emulate Ontario and Alberta. Burns warned, as reported by iGaming Times, that with ongoing discussions around sweepstakes and predictive markets in North America, “the next thing’s already here, and there’s more coming.” He stressed, as reported by iGaming Times, that “As a regulator, there’s no time to pause anymore.”
Among the provinces that do not yet provide regulated iGaming, most operate a legacy lottery regulator model with a lottery monopoly in place. British Columbia, similar to Alberta, has an iGaming monopoly, offering a range of products including table games, poker, bingo, slots, and lottery tickets. Burns notes that some of these provinces are still operating under an agreement made with the federal government in the 1980s, which granted local governments jurisdiction over their gambling laws. However, developments in Ontario, and more recently Alberta, have reportedly piqued the interest of other provinces. Burns states that a number of provinces are now analysing the framework adopted by Ontario, and both British Columbia and Quebec are actively in conversations with the Canada Gaming Association regarding the possibility of regulating iGaming in their markets.
Looking back at Canada’s historical grey market iGaming adoption, Burns suggests that the country benefited from ideal foundational elements for the sector. This included high penetration of high-speed internet in the 2000s, a high adoption rate for mobile devices, and the widespread use of electronic banking systems throughout that post-millennium period. Burns observed, as reported by iGaming Times, that “Canadians gravitated to offshore sites and were happy to play because they were available to them and offered them products they wanted, and most people didn’t know the difference.” For a long time, European incumbents like Kindred and Bet365 successfully operated products in the country’s grey market.
The 2018 repeal of PASPA in the US significantly influenced Canadian perspectives, as Canadians observed the progressive adoption of online betting and gaming across the United States. For Ontario, the market was already mature when regulation was introduced. Burns explains, as reported by iGaming Times, that “By the time Ontario opened, there was this built-in marketplace of customers with customer preferences, that was already evolving with brands,” adding that “It’s always been a healthy gaming market, but by bringing the online space out of the unregulated, into a regulated regime, we were able to see what that market looked like.”
Ontario’s robust 32% revenue gains in 2024 serve as a clear testament to the regulated market’s success. In its second full year of operation, the sector reaped $2.3 billion in revenue, a figure that excludes its state-supported iGaming Ontario platform. As the most populous province in Canada, with almost 16 million residents, Ontario’s market size is considerable. Notably, Ontario’s 2024 iGaming revenue reaped over two-thirds of New Jersey’s $2.39 billion in iGaming revenue in 2024, despite New Jersey having switched on iGaming nine years prior to Ontario (in 2013). Burns stated, as reported by iGaming Times, that “There is a strong marketplace in Ontario, and it’s continuing to evolve.” He also highlighted the “strong responsible gaming and advertising rules” in place, and insisted that while a few brands may dominate the market, there is still room for others to gain market share.
BetMGM is one operator that has previously claimed to hold a significant share of the Ontario market, reporting a 22% share. Speaking during its Q1 earnings call, BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt stated, as reported by iGaming Times, that the company’s share had increased, and it remained the iGaming leader in the region. Greenblatt expressed particular optimism about the omnichannel opportunity in soon-to-launch Alberta, as he expects BetMGM to replicate its success in Ontario. He stated, as reported by iGaming Times, that he is “(We’re) particularly excited for Alberta, which looks to still to be on track for a Q1 (2026) launch for both sports betting and iGaming. That should be a province where BetMGM really does flex its muscles, given the strength of our business in Ontario.”
Alberta notably sought to replicate much of its framework from Ontario, particularly Ontario’s ability to attract leading grey market operators. Burns stated, as reported by iGaming Times, that “One of the things Ontario did (well) was building a market that invited the gray market operators and made it advantageous for them to join.” He asserted that “Alberta is clearly leading with strong measures of consumer protection.” He described the balance as being “prepared to invest heavily in protecting your market and making it advantageous for people to join the regulated market.” Burns commented that Ontario set a good bar, but the CGA is asking them to improve on that regulatory regime.
Burns states that his trade body has advocated for a number of policy updates based on learnings from Ontario’s first two years of operation. These include streamlining technical reporting measures, which currently must be submitted to two different government entities, as compliance costs are a significant factor in competitive markets.
While Alberta’s state-run PlayAlberta site continues to grow (recording $170 million in net sales in the 2023-24 fiscal year, a 22% uptick), Burns believes the product currently represents up to only 20% of the market, meaning the remaining 80% is dominated by the black market. He suggests that the monopoly story is a familiar one: a state-run operator often “chugs along for many years with an average product,” but when the promise of an open and regulated market emerges, it is forced to “buckle down and overhaul its product to fight for a fair share of the open market.” This parallels Finland’s experience, where Jarkko Nordlund, EVP for iGaming and sports betting at Finland’s monopoly Veikkaus, stated in May, as reported by iGaming Times (originally iGB), that the operator was modernising its entire product suite and back-end services, including transitioning to new betting, PAM, and CRM platforms, ahead of its market opening to private operators in January 2027. Nordlund also conveyed, as reported by iGaming Times, that “Everyone is waiting for Veikkaus to fail. And it’s my personal mission to prove everyone wrong.” He stated that they “have not really activated (our technology and product capabilities), but the competition is fierce, and when the market opens we must be very competitive. Our aim is to challenge the mentality of our current position.”
Burns states that PlayAlberta has already enhanced the volume of products available on its site. Similar to Veikkaus, the operator is expected to leverage its strong brand reputation in the province to drive acquisition. Burns stressed that it is a choice provincial governments must make: “Do they let their gambling organisation invest? Because it will require investment.”
In April, Ontario estimated it was operating a channelisation rate of 84%, although the province’s regulator and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario found that 20.2% of those playing on regulated sites are also still engaging with the unregulated market. This indicates that there is clearly still more work to be done. While achieving an 84% channelisation rate in two and a half years is a positive trajectory, leakage of players to the illegal market could be partly due to restrictions on bonusing and promotional marketing by licensed operators in Ontario. Players actively looking for attractive welcome bonus deals might be enticed over to the black market. Alberta has yet to finalise many of the specifics around advertising and player regulations. Following the third and final reading of the iGaming bill in Parliament on May 7, the law was approved. Minister of Service and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally stated during the session that consumer protection measures would be determined once the bill was passed, to ensure flexibility and so the regulator could adapt to the changing nature of consumer behaviors. He indicated the regulated market would launch in Q1 2026.
While advancements in gaming are largely positive in Canada, the sector is grappling with the mounting threat of incoming US tariffs, as announced by President Donald Trump in February. In a note published February 1, the White House had stated that to curb the flow of drugs and immigrants into the US from Canada, it would impose a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada. In retaliation, the Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis Commission suspended the purchasing of all US gaming terminals on March 6. The regulator called for all slot machines, video lottery terminals, and other machines to be bought from companies with support services in Alberta, or from countries with whom Canada has a free trade agreement.
Burns lamented, as reported by iGaming Times, that “It’s been an emotional debate in Canada because of the way President Trump has chosen to portray the relationship between Canada and the United States in the absence of facts.” He noted that up to 70% of the gaming machines sold in Canada are being acquired via agencies belonging to the provincial governments, and land-based operators have a deal in place with the local government for the use of gaming machines. Burns also stated, as reported by iGaming Times, that “This impact is real for governments in the province, but also provinces are changing their procurement policies and (fighting back).” This situation could force a change in the procurement model used by operators, with many undoubtedly seeking to procure local supplies going forward. The impact is being felt more broadly by gaming providers with business in the US. The topic of tariffs was flagged in a number of supplier Q1 results, and analysts sought to understand how the sector is mitigating the fallout. Light & Wonder notably stated that it was looking to transport parts of its supply chain through Mexico to utilise the trade deal in place.
Overall, the future for regulating gambling is viewed as positive in Canada. And although provinces have been slow to adopt a competitive framework for iGaming, developments in Ontario and Alberta have prompted early-stage discussions among provincial regulators, indicating a gradual but definite shift towards more liberalised online markets across the country.
