{"id":6432,"date":"2022-04-04T04:04:53","date_gmt":"2022-04-04T11:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wagers.com\/staging\/4285\/?p=6432"},"modified":"2022-04-04T04:11:08","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T11:11:08","slug":"as-ontario-goes-live-with-online-sports-betting-market-dynamics-be-majorly-different-from-those-in-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wagers.com\/staging\/4285\/news\/as-ontario-goes-live-with-online-sports-betting-market-dynamics-be-majorly-different-from-those-in-the-us\/","title":{"rendered":"As Ontario goes live with sports betting, market dynamics and regulation will dominate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ontario\u2019s regulation of <a href=\"https:\/\/wagers.com\/staging\/4285\/ontario-legal-online-sports-betting\/\">online sports betting<\/a> and casino is another major milestone for the North American industry and it will be interesting to see how the market dynamics will apply in a province that has had grey market activity for many years. From a regulatory perspective the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario will also have its work cut out.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stats are well known: Ontario is the wealthiest region in Canada and its economic capital (as well as its administrative one) and i<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">f it<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was in the US it would be the fifth biggest state by population (14.5m). As a result it is the second biggest North American jurisdiction to regulate sports betting behind New York.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Analysts estimate the province could be worth close to $1bn in gross revenues in its first year of operation and many of the most well known betting brands have already received their licenses.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So far they include:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> BetMGM, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FanDuel, bet365, LeoVegas, Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG), Caesars, PointsBet Canada, Rivalry, Leo Vegas\u2019 Royal Panda, BetRivers, theScore Bet, Unibet, World Series of Poker, 888, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LottoGo, Colbet, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fitzdares, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Casigo, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Casimba, DreamVegas, FireVegas, Gate777, HelloCasino, JackpotVillage, Playzee.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The only major absentee so far is DraftKings and the reasons for its no-show are unclear. Some players have speculated that it might be linked to the province allowing <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bignumber55\/status\/1509279150632321027?s=20&amp;t=B5lx9ZJElI82DcIyrD1kSA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">daily fantasy sports for Ontario-based players only<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Promising province\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Much is expected from the province in terms of growth and all the major brands (bar DraftKings) set to compete there from day 1.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In terms of the operators that are likely to compete hardest for market share, Toronto-based sports media outlet theScore and its theScoreBET mobile app has major plans and, likely as with many other brands, has been pre-registering players in advance of the opening.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a lot riding on Ontario and Canada, if the other provinces eventually regulate, for theScoreBET and its parent company Penn National Gaming, which also owns Barstool Sportsbook.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is because The Score&#8217;s reach is largely limited to its home market. It doesn\u2019t have a sports betting (or media) presence in the US to speak of and with Penn National acquiring the group for $2bn in October, it needs to make good in Ontario\u2019s online sports betting market.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Score\u2019s management team, led by CEO and founder John Levy, as expected is bullish on its \u2018home prospects\u2019, even if it has not made things easy for itself by deciding to develop its betting platform in-house. Many things can go wrong and prove costly, for both the bottom line and the brand, if high profile mistakes are made or the technology fails.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">36 minutes and counting, Ontario\u2026\u2066<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/theScoreBet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@theScoreBet<\/a>\u2069 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rPhizsdCEs\">pic.twitter.com\/rPhizsdCEs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; John Levy (@scorecommish) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/scorecommish\/status\/1510820776563331072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 4, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><b>Long-standing market\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For all the talk of Ontario opening up to regulated sports betting however, the province and the rest of Canada has been a highly active and prosperous market for online sportsbooks for many years and the industry, from suppliers to operators, has a long history there, with Canadian firms contributing greatly to the industry\u2019s worldwide expansion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But that long-standing activity and Canada\u2019s position as one of the biggest grey markets for online gambling also mean that many brands have established major market shares and some unregulated brands will continue to market to Ontarians, just as they will to Canadians in other provinces.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wagers.com\/staging\/4285\/news\/entains-imbroglio-in-canada-will-cause-more-greys-for-the-industry\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wagers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> wrote recently, the biggest regulatory headache for Ontario is likely to\u00a0 come from First Nations such as <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kahnawake. They<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have built up a sizeable business licensing and regulating operators over the past 20 years and in Sports Interaction have developed a major Canadian sportsbook.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sports Interaction was recently <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wagersearningsmore.substack.com\/p\/feb-8-entain-strikes-an-avid-deal?s=w\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">acquired by the UK group Entain<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which is also <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MGM\u2019s joint venture partner in BetMGM, for CA$300m in early February and has been clear that it will not apply for an Ontario license.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its press release announcing the Entain takeover stated that \u201calthough Entain has made the decision to apply for\u00a0 licensure with iGaming Ontario for other brands under its umbrella, Sports Interaction will continue to be licensed under Kahnawake jurisdiction\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What this means is that Sports Interaction has no plans to get licensed in Ontario or to stop taking bets from Ontarians after April 4. It&#8217;s also interesting to note that so far Entain has not licensed its bwin brand in Ontario, despite it being one of the grey market leaders in the province.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Nightmare scenario<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Wagers wrote a month ago, this is a nightmare scenario for both Entain and AGCO, because as a sovereign First Nation Kahnawake, and the Mohawk Gaming Council that operates SIA, are not worried about operating in the province without a license and there doesn\u2019t seem much that AGCO can do to stop it anyway.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Entain, a group listed on the London stock exchange and always keen to comply with existing regulations wherever it operates, there is a real possibility that one of its high profile brands will launch in one of the biggest North American market openings of recent years without a license and, technically at least, operate in flagrant breach of the legislation governing sports betting in Ontario.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SIA situation presents a fiendish conundrum for AGCO, Entain but also for the other licensed operators who will not look kindly on such an important rival operating in the province without a license, regardless of its First Nation sovereign rights.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But what are the options available to either AGCO or Entain?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AGCO could state that SIA is illegal and attempt to ban it outright from Ontario, but as one industry contact told Wagers, \u201c no one wants to see that.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One option could see Ontario pay the Mohawk Gaming Council that operates SIA a revenue share of the revenues generated by its licensed operators, but that is far form ideal and would make many stakeholders unhappy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Entain could apply for an Ontario license at the same time as it retains its Kahnawake license.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But that would make both Kahnawake First Nation and MGC deeply unhappy.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And as Wagers\u2019 industry contact says: \u201cThe other reality is that the grey operators that currently target Canada on the whole don\u2019t use Kahnawake licenses. They operate out of Malta, Jersey and other jurisdictions.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In other words, even if AGCO, Entain, SIA and the MGC\/Kahnawake resolve their particular issues, many grey operators will continue targeting Ontario.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For AGCO it also raises questions about regulatory enforcement and providing licensed operators with a level playing field in this hotly anticipated new market. All these issues would also not play well with the many operators that have made the effort to get licensed in the province.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ontario holds great promise for online sportsbooks, but we should expect sparks to fly if there is too much uneven competition and regulatory uncertainty continues for too long.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ontario\u2019s regulation of online sports betting and casino is another major milestone for the North American industry and it will be interesting to see how the market dynamics will apply in a province that has had grey market activity for many years. From a regulatory perspective the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario will also [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[324],"tags":[1111,939,851,643,640,922,594,713,606],"class_list":["post-6432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-bet365","tag-betmgm","tag-betrivers","tag-caesars","tag-fanduel","tag-ontario-sports-betting","tag-pointsbet","tag-thescore","tag-unibet"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wagers.com\/staging\/4285\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wagers.com\/staging\/4285\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wagers.com\/staging\/4285\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wagers.com\/staging\/4285\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wagers.com\/staging\/4285\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6432"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/wagers.com\/staging\/4285\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6450,"href":"https:\/\/wagers.com\/staging\/4285\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6432\/revisions\/6450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wagers.com\/staging\/4285\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wagers.com\/staging\/4285\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wagers.com\/staging\/4285\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}