Ontario
Sports betting went live in Ontario on April 4, 2022, and ever since then, the province has developed a vast and exciting gambling scene with over two dozen sports betting apps, along with retail casinos and online casinos.
🇨🇦 Legal sports betting apps in Ontario:
The listing presents only those online sportsbook sites and applications that are licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. So, if you are located in another province, we recommend that you check all legal sports betting apps operating in Canada from our website.
Online sports betting in Ontario - Fully legal and booming!
Sports betting has actually been legal in Canada since 1985, but the catch is that single-game sports betting was not legal. Most sports betting in Canada came from the lottery, but that would all change on August 27, 2021, when single-game sports betting was legalized through Bill C-218 or the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act.
The country decided to allow each individual province to monitor their own betting market. Less than a year later, on April 4, 2022, online sports betting went live in the province of Ontario. Since Canada is a large market, sportsbook operators quickly flocked to the province, looking to obtain a license from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (ACGO).
Some sportsbooks, including Bet365, Unibet, and 888, were already operating in Ontario under a gray market. Still, when it was announced sports betting would be made legal, all of those operators began the process of registering with ACGO. In total, 13 online sportsbooks became legally available to Ontario bettors when sports betting went legal on April 4th. Since then, there have been 19 more operators to obtain a license, and go live in Ontario.
The reason for the sheer size of Ontario’s betting market is that it is Canada’s primary betting market. Other provinces do offer betting, but it is done primarily through provincial lotteries. Ontario followed a similar betting structure before April 4th, as their provincial lottery app was Proline+, which is still available. However, Alberta is expected to become the next province to launch a betting market similar to Ontario’s.
Ontario has a nice mix of well-known American operators and some brand-name Canadian operators. Some American operators currently offering an online sportsbook in Ontario include BetMGM, BetRivers, Caesars, FanDuel, and DraftKings. The brand-name Canadian operators include Pinnacle, Bet99, Sports Interaction, TonyBet, and plenty more.
Sports betting legislation in Ontario
| Is online sports betting legal in Ontario? | Yes |
| Is in-person sports betting legal? | Yes |
| Is daily fantasy sports legal? | Yes |
| Is horse racing betting legal? | Yes |
| Is political betting legal? | Yes |
| Is eSports betting legal? | Yes |
| How many legal sports betting apps are there in Ontario? | 32 |
| Legal age for sports betting in Ontario? | +19 |
| Ontario's tax rate for betting/gambling winnings | 5.05% to 13.16% depending on income |
| Who regulates sports betting in Ontario? | The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) |
With sports betting already legal in the U.S., Canada took inspiration from different states to formulate its betting market. While Ontario does have retail casinos, the province decided not to require online operators to partner with a retail operator to obtain access to the market. This allows the province to offer over 30 online operators and remote registration.
To obtain a license, operators must pay a $100,000 licensing fee and a 20% tax rate on all sports betting revenue. These licensing fees are paid to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, the governing body that distributes licenses to operators. Due to provincial gambling laws, once operators obtain a license, they are prohibited from making public ads for bonuses, new customer deals, and iCasino offers.
Aside from the lack of public advertisements, Ontario sports betting legislation is very open and has few restrictions. In addition to the general sports betting markets, Ontario bettors have the option to wager on politics and eSports and access social sportsbooks, betting exchanges, and DFS apps. It is worth noting that while eSports betting is legal, it is considered in Ontario to be an online casino game under regulatory guidelines created by the AGCO.
Outside of restrictions related to operators, there are multiple regulations that Ontario bettors need to be aware of. For starters, the legal age to place an online wager is 19. However, 18-year-olds in Ontario can place physical bets at OLG Lottery Terminals. Since each Canadian province controls its sports betting market, Ontario bettors must also ensure they are in the provincial lines when placing a bet on an AGCO-regulated platform.
Recent updates from the Ontario’s sports betting scene
August 16, 2024: Executive Director of iGaming Ontario, Martha Otton, is set to retire at the end of 2024. Otton has been in charge of iGaming Ontario since it was developed in 2022.
August 2, 2024: Integrity Compliance has been selected by iGaming Ontario to develop the first-ever platform for Ontario bettors to self-exclude from casinos, sportsbooks, and Ontario lottery platforms.
July 29, 2024: Based on reports from iGaming Ontario, bettors wagered C$18.4 million in the first quarter of the 2024-25 fiscal year. This handle comes from online casinos, sports betting, and online poker products overseen by iGaming Ontario.
July 2, 2024: Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey took the stage at the Canadian Gaming Summit and revealed that online gambling operators took C$63 billion in wagers and made C$2.4 billion in revenue in year two of sports betting.
July 18, 2024: Ontario poker player Jason Sagle finished fourth in the World Series of Poker Main Event, which netted him a $3 million payout.
All legal gambling options in Ontario
| Are online casinos legal in Ontario? | Yes |
| Are retail casinos legal? | Yes |
| Are social casinos legal? | Yes |
| Is online poker legal? | Yes |
| Is the lottery legal? | Yes |
Sports betting is truly just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the legal gambling market in Ontario. For starters, there are 11 retail betting facilities for sports betting, but 29 casinos in total throughout the province, each varying in size and offering a different number of games. Poker is available at some of those retail locations, but customers also have the option to partake in online poker on some of the prominent iCasinos that are active.
The lottery in different Canadian provinces, including Ontario, has been involved with sports betting far before single-game wagering was legal, and it remains very prevalent in ON. Outside of casinos and the lottery, horse race betting is a key aspect of the Ontario gambling market. Bettors do have the option to wager on horse races online, but they can also visit one of the 15 live racetracks or off-track betting locations in the province.
Other gambling-related news & stories from Ontario
June 21, 2024: Another online casino has joined the Ontario market, as Titanplay online casino is officially live, according to iGaming Ontario. The product offers multiple games, including slots, roulette, and blackjack. This brings the total number of online casinos in Ontario to over 70.
May 30, 2024: The ACGO has granted a license to Swintt, a software provider that offers online slot games for online casinos to opt into and offer on their sites. Swintt is also licensed in many other countries, including Sweden, the United Kingdom, Malta, and Germany.
May 14, 2024: The Ontario Superior Court has thrown out a legal challenge to the province’s online sports betting and iGaming market structure made by the MCK.
April 4, 2024: According to the Ipsos Ontario gaming study, which took place from January 29th to February 15th of 2024, 86% of participants who engaged in sports betting or online casinos did so with a regulated operator within the province. The study also found that 35.2% of residents in Ontario used online sportsbooks or casinos within the last year.
Ontario - Some commonly asked questions (FAQ)
What legal restrictions do sports bettors face in Ontario?
After the legal betting market launched in Ontario, basically all forms of sports wagering became widely available for the public, including esports betting, if you just place such wagers on AGCO-licensed sites and apps.
Why can't I see any bonus codes or offers from Ontario's betting apps?
Ontario's gambling laws prohibit public ads of sports betting bonuses, free bets, and other iGaming promotions. However, the operators can freely offer such inducements, so you should check for such promos straight from the sportsbook site if interested.
How much money do Ontarians spend on sports betting?
During the second year of regulated Ontarian iGaming, between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, sports betting alone accounted for C$9.7bn in placed wagers. This was nothing compared to the casino games, which totaled a staggering C$51.7bn worth of bets.
What are the biggest fines AGCO has issued for Ontario-facing sports betting operators?
One of the largest AGCO-issued penalties was directed to Pointsbet in late 2023 when the operator was fined C$150,000 for breaches in responsible gambling rules. In addition to this, Apollo Entertainment and DraftKings have received fines of C$100,000.
