The Two Solitudes Of Canadian Sports Betting

It's quickly emerging that there are two contending viewpoints about online sports wagering in Canada, which both sides are digging in on their differing point of views.


One view is that sports wagering need to be the domain of government-owned lottery game and gaming corporations, which have long had legal monopolies for online betting in most of Canada.


The other view is that private-sector gamers should be brought into the mix as authorized rivals through licensing and regulation, an approach that just two provinces have actually accepted thus far.


Those various methods have created concern and dispute at times, however both sides seem like they will be embeded in their methods for the foreseeable future.


Welcome to Canada (Ontario's variation)


The two provinces welcoming private-sector competitors are Ontario, which released a managed market for iGaming in 2022 (comparable to what's been carried out in U.S. states), and Alberta, which is pursuing something along the very same lines.


Canadian Gaming Association president and CEO Paul Burns said previously this month during the NEXT iGaming and sports betting top in New york city that Alberta cabinet ministers just recently approved a prepare for a new iGaming market.


That plan follows some fits and starts to Alberta sports betting, as the video gaming market had expected a launch as early as late last year.


Burns said a launch a year from now is a "reasonable estimation" for Alberta. The government still has things to do, including legislation that might need passing.


"The structure will look very similar to Ontario," Burns stated. "What we're motivating is to look a lot like Ontario."


Ontario currently appears like a province with about 50 various private-sector iGaming operators, which are authorized to offer online sports betting in Ontario, casino gaming, and poker. In Ontario, "iGaming" is an umbrella term for online sports betting along with internet-based slots and table games.


The lineup of provincially managed operators in Ontario includes bet365, DraftKings, and FanDuel, among numerous others. Competing alongside them is the government-owned Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., which utilized to be the only authorized game in the area for online betting.


Ontario is now down to simply 49 private-sector iGaming operators (that are controlled by the province). RIP Fitzdares: https://t.co/gVAtjgxwCV pic.twitter.com/5grgtv7tmF


What sports betting in Alberta ultimately appears like stays to be seen. The province has a government-owned lotto and video gaming entity that is providing iGaming using the Play Alberta brand, but it's possible that could ultimately be one of many regulated sportsbooks.


A representative for Alberta's iGaming minister stated it is "obvious" the provincial federal government has actually been dealing with a new technique.


"We are presently resolving the federal government's decision-making procedure," stated Brandon Aboultaif, press secretary to Service Alberta and Bureaucracy Reduction Minister Dale Nally, in a statement to Covers.


Not our cup of tea


But what Ontario has done and what Alberta might do is much different from what's occurring all over else in Canada. These other provinces also look like they are doubling down on their technique.


As has been reported in other places, the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) and British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) have introduced a demand for (RFP) looking for a "National Sports Betting Solution," which Loto-Québec and other lotteries could eventually take part in as well.


"The Operators are teaming up to choose a single Supplier with which they will each negotiate an agreement to supply an innovation platform along with the trading and liability management services that will allow each of the Operators to use sports wagering through the Supplier; collectively deemed the National Sports Betting Solution," the RFP states.


This "best-in-class" product would be under one brand, PROLINE, a name Canadian lottos have used since 1992, the document notes.


"A single sport wagering platform option is suggested to enable a consistent sports wagering experience for Players in each of the Operators' jurisdictions," the RFP adds. "The Supplier is anticipated to provide digital sports wagering services for all operators under the brand 'PROLINE+', and retail sports betting services for choose Operators under the brand 'PROLINE.'"


BCLC currently offers the technology for the sole authorized online gambling platform in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. All three provinces now use BCLC's PlayNow brand name for mobile sports wagering and internet gambling establishment gambling.


Potentially, then, Canada's Atlantic provinces, B.C., Manitoba, Quebec, and Saskatchewan might all have the same online sportsbook. In other words, everybody but Alberta and Ontario.


The two solitudes of iGaming


So there are two Canadas: one that desires iGaming supplied by many, and the other that desires it provided by few (albeit perhaps with some private-sector assistance).


The stakes of this distinction in opinion are relatively low compared to the important things provincial federal governments are most worried about, such as health care and education.


That said, gaming-related tax incomes are utilized to help fund those government top priorities, and online gambling is showing to be the predominant way individuals desire to wager their cash.


It's also as much as Canada's provinces to choose how to "conduct and handle" gaming, consisting of online. And it does not look like everyone will get on the exact same page anytime soon.


Burns stated the B.C. federal government is at least available to a discussion about a different technique, but the actions of its lottery game suggest that province will stay on its current course for the foreseeable future.


Furthermore, regardless of the efforts of a private-sector union to get the Quebec federal government to open up its legal online gambling market, the CGA's Burns stated the province is a "long method away" from changing its approach.


The Quebec sports betting market is likewise harder for operators to crack offered the language barrier. While Canada may have two main languages, in Quebec, there is only the one: French.


Grey days


Nevertheless, the 2 iGaming Canadas are arguably driven to their various ends by a typical cause, which is reducing the quantity of betting individuals are making with "grey market" operators.


These "grey" sportsbooks and casinos may be controlled abroad or outside any provided province, but they are not licensed by those provinces. They are also likely where the bulk of online betting is taking place in Canada, with the exception of Ontario.


Ontario's regulated iGaming market transitioned formerly grey operators into the new regulatory structure. So someone who when took bets without Ontario's authorization was able to get a license and bring their customers with them into the managed market.


Ontario can now indicate research that recommends more than 85% of online gambling in the province accompanies provincially managed sites.


Before the launch of its competitive iGaming market, the Ontario government stated an estimated 70% of online gaming was happening on "unregulated, grey market" websites. Alberta's lottery and gaming entity even has research recommending it manages less than half of the province's online betting activity.


The thinking in Alberta and Ontario, then, is instead of trying to mark out grey market operators, invite them into a regulated system where you set the guidelines and get a cut of the action.


In Ontario, approximately 20% of a personal iGaming operator's revenue goes to help money government priorities. Ontario gamblers wagered roughly $7 billion with private iGaming websites in February, which led to $280.1 million in revenue and around $56 million that was due to the government. Which is in addition to the contribution of the government-owned OLG's iGaming website, which takes on private-sector competitors in the province's managed gambling sector.


But not every province sees Ontario's design as a silver bullet.


Manitoba's lottery has actually even taken the novel technique of trying to press one overseas sportsbook operator out of its provincial gaming market by seeking an injunction through the courts. That legal matter is ongoing.


Ontario's design is likewise giving other provinces headaches. Advertising for Ontario-regulated gambling websites is presumably increasing the expense of marketing for government-owned gaming entities. Those advertisements do not constantly remain in Ontario either, which can produce confusion amongst consumers in other provinces.


More concerning are the accusations made by non-Ontario lotteries that Ontario-licensed websites push individuals who try to access them from other parts of Canada to global affiliate websites using the very same brand name. These allegations have been made in a couple of various settings, including an Ontario government court reference.


Put differently, it's alleged someone in B.C. might see an advertisement for an Ontario-regulated sportsbook, go to the website, and get told they can't play here, however, hey, how about this other site? And these websites, BCLC recently contended, are unlawful, a claims the economic sector has protested.