This branch is known as iGaming, started to operate on April 4th hits, it helps oversee the legal betting sites in the province. It helps Ontarians ensure they are playing on safe, trusted betting sites. Before iGaming, Canadians could only use offshore betting sites that operate in legal gray areas or the OLG Proline Multi-bets, which aren’t bettor friendly.

With the arrival of iGaming, Ontario online betting is safer than ever before. Everyone from the new betting sites to longstanding operators will be able to file for licenses with iGaming, and gambling will be offered in a safer, more government-regulated way.

These changes to online betting will impact betting trends and change the market in a significant way. Let’s explore these changes, what to expect from them, and dive into what the future might hold for Ontario Sports Betting.

What you can find in this article?

Best New Betting Sites in Canada

Here are some of the top sports betting Canada websites that have recently entered the Ontario and Canadian markets.

BetMGM - New Betting Site

BETMGM

BetMGM comes to Canada by way of MGM Resorts International, one of the biggest names in gambling. This is a shiny new sports betting website that has several standout features Canadian bettors are going to be very happy about. The BetMGM betting app is one of the tops in the country, its website is immaculately designed, and the sportsbook is deep.

Users of this sportsbook can expect to find exciting player props, competitive odds, and live streaming features. It is a huge website with a lot to explore and a big addition to sports betting Canada. For more info read BetMGM Review

✓Live Stream Games ✓Variety Of Betting Markets
Pointsbet Canada

PointsBet is arriving in Canada after building a significant following in Australia. There is a lot of reason for excitement over PointsBet, which calls itself the “fastest-growing sports betting site in Canada.” The first thing many gamblers will enjoy is their mobile app, which is intuitive and fun. The next thing they’ll notice is the clean, simplistic appeal of their website.

PointsBet has great live markets, a deep sportsbook, and an array of customer support options. It is known for its security and player protection and will likely see its rapid growth continue across Canada. For more info read PointsBet Review

✓Parlay Booster ✓Pointsbet Reviewrds

Betting in Ontario

We’ve given you a small breakdown of the Ontario sports betting situation, but let’s jump into the nitty-gritty of it all.

Up until recently, single-game sports betting wasn’t legal in Canada. People were allowed to make parlay bets on multiple games through the Ontario Lottery, but they couldn’t place single bets. Bettors could use offshore betting sites without any fear of punishment for single bets, which we’ll refer to as gray area betting. It wasn’t illegal, but it also wasn’t legal or Canadian government regulated.

However, that all changed when Bill C-218, the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act, passed. This bill gave provinces the ability to determine whether single-game sports betting was legal and determine how and when it would be legalized. Naturally, many provinces jumped at the opportunity to earn revenue from gambling and oversee the industry.

It has taken some time for the Ontario government to make it happen, but Ontario is still the first province to have the infrastructure in place. iGaming is that infrastructure. iGaming was launched almost immediately in the summer of 2021. It was launched by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, and its purpose is to protect consumers, regulate the market, and ensure legal growth and provincial returns.

iGaming is a turning point for single-game sports betting in Ontario, and it is set to launch for good on April 4th. Buckle up because Ontario betting will never be the same.

Ontario Sports Betting

Ontario Sports Betting Legality

Is Sports Betting Legal?

You’re probably asking yourself, is Ontario sports betting legal? The answer to this isn’t as simple as the question. For all intents and purposes, it has been a legal gray area for years. It was not legal or government-regulated, but bettors were legally allowed to use gray areas like offshore or tribal betting sites. But the past year has changed that. It is now legal and up to the Ontario government. With iGaming going live on April 4th, it will be entirely legal, regulated, and legitimate.

What is iGaming Trying to Achieve?

The answer to this is easy. People are going to bet anyways and do in high volumes. It wasn’t fully legal, but there were hundreds of thousands of Ontarians that did it regardless. iGaming allows the government to oversee this market and likely receive a significant share of the revenue. In other places where gambling was legalized, the state received billions of dollars in revenue.

For users and bookmakers, it’ll make things safer and more clear. We’ll know exactly what is legal and what isn’t, and there will be no concerns about scamming. iGaming is set to mandate several different things for player safety and work to create a better environment for players.

All in all, this is good for everyone. The government will be able to tax the operators and receive their fair due, players will have a safer and more secure system, and operators will enjoy the benefits of a growing user base as more Canadians sign up.

Before You Start Betting

There’s a lot to know about betting, and our many sportsbook reviews should give you some insight into the industry. However, we’ll give you some quick insights into gambling below.

There are a few things to know about sports betting before you get started. For starters, legality is hugely important. If you are betting with an operator that isn’t legal, there is a significant increase in the chances of it being a scam. You don’t want to lose your money, so always check if a sportsbook is legal first.

The other factors to consider are whether the operator aligns with your interests. Does it support the payment methods you want? Every sportsbook has different methods, ranging from Interac to cryptocurrency. Ensure they have the options you are looking for before you get started.

With gambling, it is always critical that you stay safe, and iGaming will help bettors ensure that they don’t gamble in a problematic way. iGaming will ensure that every licensed operator has systems where gamblers can set deposit and betting limits to avoid harmful habits.

Who Will Be Able to Bet in Ontario?

Just because betting will be legal in Ontario doesn’t mean that everyone will be able to do it. For starters, there are still rules around betting legality in Ontario that bettors need to know. For Ontario sports betting, the minimum age to bet is 19. This is different across Canada, so check for your province if you live outside Ontario. As well, to legally bet on Ontario sports betting sites, you must register for an account and include all your personal information.

Single Betting in Ontario

You’ve heard us mention Ontario single-game betting, but what exactly is that? When single-game betting was legalized in August of 2021, it changed everything. Let’s take a look at why.

Single-game betting is exactly what it sounds like. It is a bet placed on a single sporting event. For example, if the Maple Leafs were playing the Senators, and I wanted to bet on that game, that would be a single-game bet.

Until recently, this wasn’t legal in Canada. The only types of betting that were legal were multi-game betting, and this wasn’t done online. Multi-betting is parlay bets, bets that are placed on several games at once, with all the bets within needing to hit in order for the bet to cash.

This wasn’t done online, either. Bettors would have to purchase Proline or Proline+ tickets from convenience stores and gas stations. The proceeds from these all went to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission, or the OLG. This wasn’t great for gamblers for several reasons.

For starters, the OLG would provide some unfavorable odds for bettors because they didn’t have other options. That is why the array of sports betting sites is so good for bettors because competition forces them to offer good deals to bettors. As well, since the only bets available were parlays, bettors were often forced to make risky bets.

With the legalization of single-game betting, Ontario sports betting is now likely to take off in a major way. Before, bettors would have to utilize gray area offshore platforms for their single-game betting. This will no longer be the case.

Who is Eligible for a License?

Now that Ontario betting is legal, there will be an array of sports betting websites that turn their attention to our province. It is likely that Canadians are going to have more gambling options than ever before now that legality is on its way. But iGaming is a legitimate government-controlled organization, and they don’t hand out Ontario gambling licenses to anyone. So who is eligible for an iGaming license?

There are a lot of different things that dictate eligibility for iGaming licenses. Most large gambling companies, such as 888Sport or Betway, which are already licensed in several locations around the world, will already live up to these licensing standards. However, many gambling companies won’t.

There are a list of rules and regulations that iGaming uses to ensure they’re only licensing safe and respectable companies. Here are some of the things that iGaming considers:

  • Game Design and Features
  • Policies and Culture
  • Design and Advertising
  • Employee Training
  • Self-Exclusion and Breaks In Play
  • Supporting Informed Decision Making

There are more than just these factors, but those are some of the primary ones. There are lists of regulations imposed by both iGaming and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.

iGaming doesn’t make it easy to obtain a license, which is a good thing. This supports an environment where only trusted and respectable operators can thrive in Ontario, which is great for bettors.

FAQs

How is iGaming Going to Help Me as a Sports Bettor?

iGaming is going to make a massive impact for sports bettors because it will re-shape the industry in a consumer-friendly way. There will be a much easier process to verify that the websites you are using are safe and reliable, and it takes the confusion out of the process. iGaming will ensure that the operators that legally operate in Toronto have the best interests of consumers at heart, ensuring fair play and safe betting.

New Operators Enter the Ontario Market?

Yes! This is one of the most exciting aspects of this whole situation. There is going to be an influx of new operators that enter the Canadian market as a result of the legality of single-game betting in Ontario. Websites like BetMGM, FanDuel, and DraftKings, three of the biggest sportsbooks in America, have announced plans to enter Canadian markets. This wasn’t possible before because they’re not offshore; they are licensed in the United States. When they inevitably enter Canada, Ontario bettors will be able to enjoy things like daily fantasy, which were previously off-limits.

What Will Happen to Operators That Don’t Get Licensed?

This is dependent on a lot of different scenarios. What is most important in this is whether or not the Ontario and Canadian governments will close the loopholes that allow sports betting websites to exist in a legal gray area. If they do, those websites won’t be able to serve Ontario residents. If they don’t, those websites will likely still lose customers, as they’ll be at a disadvantage to companies that are legally allowed to market to Canadians.

When Does iGaming Come into Full Effect?

On April 4th, iGaming will laumch. There are some companies that have already announced their intentions to become licensed Canadian operators, and they will likely implement these changes quite quickly. But the changes from iGaming are long-term. It will be a process, but eventually, a huge number of operators will be iGaming licensed, and companies from around the world will head to Ontario.

What is the Overall Goal of iGaming?

iGaming is the fruit of legalization in Canada and Ontario. It is a regulatory body that is overseeing the internet gambling world and implementing the changes necessary to make this work. iGaming’s goal is to regulate the industry, providing oversight and licensing that ensures sportsbooks and casinos aren’t encouraging problem behavior. They will also make gambling funds taxable, which will bring a lot of money to the Ontario government and make this a worthwhile endeavor for all Canadians. Ultimately, this change is good for everyone.