The legal entity managing internet gaming in the Canadian province of Ontario, iGaming Ontario (iGO), released the market performance report for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2022 to confirm that the market continued to pick up the pace.
Nearly Doubled the Previous Quarter
The report released as part of iGO’s commitment to sharing aggregate revenue and market insights on a quarterly basis showed that for the three months running from October 1 to December 31, 2022, internet gaming operations in Ontario registered C$11.53 billion ($8.67 billion) in total wagers.
The third quarter total wagers amount nearly doubled the amount operators in the province accounted for in the second fiscal quarter, C$6.04 billion ($4.54 billion), and confirmed that the market continued to pick up the pace.
The beginning of the third quarter coincided with the country’s national football team’s first participation in a FIFA World Cup competition since 1986, as well as the start of the seasons for two local major league franchises, NBA’s Toronto Raptors and NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, and all three events could have sparked additional interest in wagering among eligible Canadians.
The nearly doubled amount of total wagers led to an increase in the total gaming revenue which came to C$457 million ($343.6 million) to post a 71% increase from C$267 million ($200.7 million) registered in the previous fiscal quarter.
Total gaming revenue includes “total cash wagers, including rake fees, tournament fees and other fees minus player winnings derived from cash wagers and does not take into account operating costs or other liabilities.”
The increase in total gaming revenue did not match the increase in total wagers, 91%, meaning that the licensed operators in the province had higher promotional spending in the third quarter as compared to the previous three-month period.
Increase in Operators, Player Accounts
The number of licensed operators active during the third quarter was 36, up 50% as compared to the previous quarter when there were only 24 active operators. Gambling websites jumped from 42 in fiscal Q2 to 68 in the fiscal Q3 to post an increase of 62%.
910,000 active player accounts in Q3 were used to wager with cash or promotional wagers or both, but as individual players may hold accounts with multiple operators, the number does not represent unique players.
Active player accounts registered an increase of 45% in Q3 as compared to Q2 but the average monthly spend per active player account of C$167 ($125.6) was up just 18% on C$142 ($106.8) in the previous quarter.
iGO noted that the report did not include numbers from Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) and that the numbers released could be subject to adjustments.