The much awaited launch of sports betting in casinos of Ontario comes after over a year of the federal lawmakers of Canada authorizing single-game wagering with the purpose of permitting bring-and-mortar gaming facilities in the country to include it in their offering.
There’s now a new platform for sports betting in Ontario; actual casinos.
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) had publicized on Friday that its casino service providers are preparing to launch brick-and-mortar sportsbooks betting at certain facilities across the province. At least 10 casinos have launched and made their sportsbooks available to the public on Friday and began taking bets.
These physical sportsbooks are what’s added progress to the already 20 online sports betting websites that have legally launched with respect to the province’s newly updated regulations, and which Ontario casinos can now attempt to compete with by rolling out what’s called “Las Vegas-like” wagering experiences for their customers.
The well-known CEO and president of OLG Duncan Hannay had the following to say in the latest press release:
“We are proud to have worked closely with the gaming industry and our partners in the Ontario government on this next phase of growth in Ontario’s gaming market..”
He then proceeded with the following statement:
“Sportsbooks in casinos will offer a diverse and integrated entertainment experience for players, give our service providers a stake in the sports gaming market, and bring more jobs and economic benefits to host communities.
The long-awaited introduction of legal sports betting at Ontario casinos comes after what’s just longer than a year after federal lawmakers and regulators permitted single-game betting in Canada with the goal of allowing physical gaming facilities in the country to offer such.
A big inspiration and motivation behind this move was mainly the quick rise in popularity with sports betting in the United States following a decision by the Supreme Court in 2018, which led to U.S. casinos near the Canadian border to offer game betting. Rivaliing U.S. casinos with sportsbooks posed a threat to the bottom-line and business to casinos in Niagara Falls and Windsor, giving Ottawa extra motivation into decriminalizing single-game betting.
The official date which permitted provinces to conduct and manage single bets was August of 2021, but none of these operators had started offering it in-person until Ontario on Friday. This is because Ontario planned to opt in for the service after launching and opening the competitive market for internet gambling. In the province of Ontario there are more than 20 iGaming operators legally running business.
All Pieces are Falling into Place
OLG (Ontario Lottery Gaming Corporation), the government owned corporation technically owns the casinos in Ontario and uses service providers to manage and operate the facilities with boots on the ground. This led to the rollout of in-facility sports betting involve multiple parties, including the AGCO (Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario) and the provincial government of Ontario.
Although the cooperation of such parties has proven to be a challenge, strides have been made with regards to getting in-person betting up and running properly. B2B sports betting platform provider company Kambi Group made an announcement that it will “provide its leading on-property sportsbook” to 10 of Great Canadian Entertainment’s (GCE) casinos operating in Ontario.
Great Canadian Entertainment announced Friday that 4 of its well-renowned casinos have opened doors to its “dedicated sportsbook lounges” now known as Great Canadian Sportsbooks, where sports fans can not only watch their favorite teams play live games but they can also enjoy their favorite game-day food and beverages, while also being able to place bets and wagers at one of the several kiosks around.
The four casino locations mentioned above are Picking Casino Resort, Great Blue Heron Casino and Hotel, Elements Casino Brantford, and Shorelines Casino Belleville.
In the meantime, six other Ontario facilities now offer sports-betting stations within their gaming areas and other tables, announced by Great Canadian in a press release. These respective locations are Shorelines Casino Peterborough, Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands, Woodbine, Elements Casino Mohawk, Elements Casino Grand River and Elements Casino Flamboro.
Not Finished Quite Yet
Well renowned Kambi Group executed a comparable deal to provide retail sports wagering at Ontario’s famous tourist-frequented Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara, both located in Niagara Falls.
36 kiosks are planned to be implemented at the two casinos which are ran and operated by Mohegan. It was also revealed that there are plans put together to reassemble Casino Niagara’s sports bar into a retail sportsbook experience too.
A lot of credit must be given to regulators as well who have proved to be hard at work to get this deal done. The AGCO publicized on Friday that it had brought its land-based gaming standards up to date with regards to sports betting. All parties including regulators and service providers have done a great job in this implementation and it’s going to be interesting at the very least to see how it all plays out in the overall casino experience in Ontario.