Each week, Canada Sports Betting recaps all the top sports betting and iGaming news in Canada and highlights upcoming events.
Our top stories this week
- CFL Week 6 Odds, Betting Preview: Undefeated Roughriders Big Underdogs On Road Against Lions
- 2024 Paris Olympics Men’s Basketball: Canada Owns Second-Shortest Outright Odds Despite Tough Group Draw
- Opening Futures Odds Released For 2024/25 NHL Awards
- Canadian NHL Free Agency Recap – Eastern Trio Shake-Up Their Bluelines
- NHL Free Agency Brings Big Risers, Fallers In Stanley Cup Futures Market
- Canadian NHL Free Agency Recap – Western Teams Solidify Directions
Event of the week
EURO 2024 final – Sunday, July 14
After several weeks of competition, the battle for European soccer supremacy will come to an exciting conclusion on Sunday in Germany.
Spain has opened as the betting favourite (around -150) in the EURO 2024 final against England (odds around +120). Spain will be seeking its fourth EURO title, last winning the competition in 2012. England, meanwhile, will be looking to capture its first European championship after finishing as the runner-up in 2020.
Spain winger Lamine Yamal is the favourite to win UEFA Player of the Tournament honours with +175 odds at bet365. Spanish midfielder Rodri is close behind with +275 odds to win the award.
Check back with Canada Sports Betting on Saturday for a full betting preview of this can’t-miss event.
New projections for Alberta online gambling market
Last week, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, LCC, a boutique research firm focused on servicing the gaming equipment, sports, and interactive gaming sectors within the global gaming industry, released some research on the potential size and competitive landscape of the Alberta online gambling market.
Eilers & Krejcik is forecasting the market, which will consist of online sports betting, iCasino, and online poker, will generate almost $863 million (USD) in gross gaming revenue at maturity, with nearly three-quarters of that revenue coming from the iCasino vertical.
The forecasting model is also projecting grey market operators, like bet365, Super Group (Betway, Spin), and Stake.com, will have the opportunity to onshore their operations and command a significant market share from launch. Super Group and bet365 could capture double-digit market share, according to the model, and BetMGM, which Eilers & Krejcik believes is leading Ontario’s regulated igaming market, could also be a big player in the province.
Unfortunately, iGaming Ontario and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario don’t release market share information in their quarterly revenue reports, as is common practice in many U.S. jurisdictions that offer online sports betting and/or igaming. So, there is no concrete evidence of the market share that the 45-plus operators in the province are competing for, other than financial figures that are released from some of the public-traded companies doing business in the province. Many industry analysts are skeptical that BetMGM, which claims to have a 22% market share in Ontario, is the leading operator over some of the previously existing grey market operators, such as bet365, in the province.
Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally announced at the Canadian Gaming Summit last month that the province will largely adopt Ontario’s framework to launch a regulated igaming market.
“We want a free and open market,” Nally exclaimed at the Summit. “It’s going to look very similar to Ontario because we’re following their model. As far as I’m concerned, they built the roadmap and we’re working through that now. We’re probably going to massage it a little bit, so it’s got a little bit of a spin on Alberta, but really, it’s being inspired by the market in Ontario.”
Nally wouldn’t offer a timeline for a potential launch of a regulated igaming market in Alberta, but said the government is working hard to develop the framework while also consulting with its First Nations partners over the summer. A spokesperson for Nally previously told Canada Sports Betting that the ideal time to launch the market would coincide with major upcoming sporting events, such as the CFL’s Grey Cup (November), NFL’s Super Bowl (Feb. 2025) and the NHL playoffs (April 2025).
A recent iGaming Ontario and Deloitte study found that Ontario’s regulated competitive igaming market sustained almost 15,000 jobs and added a combined $1.24 billion to federal, provincial, and municipal government revenues in its second year of operation. The regulated igaming market also contributed $2.7 billion to Ontario’s GDP in its second year of operation, up from $1.58 billion in its first year. None of those figures include the financial contributions from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. In its 2022-23 fiscal report, OLG says the crown corporation delivered $2.5 billion in net profit to the province through its lottery, land-based gaming, and digital gaming sectors, smashing the previous yearly record of $2.3 billion set back in 2019-20.
Many industry analysts are predicting that Alberta’s regulated igaming market could be robust, with one expert predicting Alberta could earn “at least $100 million in net revenue taxes in the market’s first year of operation.” With a population of roughly 5 million, 10 million less than Ontario, Alberta’s igaming market obviously won’t be as lucrative as its provincial counterpart, but it could compete or even exceed revenue expectations, on a per capita basis.
Currently, the only legal sports betting and igaming option for Albertans is through AGLC’s PlayAlberta website. According to AGLC’s 2022-23 annual report, a total of $4.4 billion in bets were placed on PlayAlberta across all games in 2023, which was an increase of 22.2% compared to 2022. However, online sports betting only accounted for 3% of net sales, with iCasino and online lottery driving the majority of revenue.
SIGA releases annual report
The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA), a non-profit corporation that reinvests all net revenue back into Saskatchewan, released its 2023-24 annual report on Wednesday.
The corporation announced a second straight year of record-breaking profits, hitting $346.6 million in gross revenue and a final distribution income of $138.8 million for the period of April 1, 2023, March 31, 2024.
“SIGA has successfully built back from the pandemic, achieving record-breaking revenues over the past 24 months, all the while making major strides in enhancing our casino properties and offerings and growing our online gaming platform PlayNow.com in Saskatchewan,” said SIGA President & CEO Zane Hansen in a release.
SIGA provides first-class entertainment to patrons across Saskatchewan through its seven casino destinations and online gaming and sports betting site, PlayNow.com. The site is the province’s only regulated online gaming platform, and the corporation’s net revenue is redistributed – 50% to the First Nations Trust (which is distributed to the 74 First Nations in the province), 25% to Community Development Corporations (CDCs) which reinvests the money back into local community initiatives and 25% to the provincial General Revenue Fund.
Some of the igaming highlights from the report include:
- Total wagers in Q4 were $151 million. The 2023-2024 year ended with $503 million in total wagers. This figure does not include promotional wagers (bonuses).
- Total gross gaming revenue in Q4 was $5.51 million. The 2023-24 year ended with $19.1 million, surpassing budgeted revenue. This figure does not account for operating costs or other liabilities.
- Since its initial launch in November of 2022, PlayNow.com has successfully acquired more than 30,000 customers.
- 50% of SIGA’s online customer base comes from rural communities and areas outside of Saskatoon and Regina.
On Sept. 23 2021,, the Saskatchewan government and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) announced an amendment of the Gaming Framework Agreement (GFA), which was originally signed in 1995, to establish the legal grounds for a digital gaming enterprise to be run by SIGA. FSIN, which represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan, and the province established an unprecedented 50/50 revenue-sharing agreement, making SIGA the only First Nations operator in Canada to have such a deal with any level of government for online gaming.
Jontay Porter pleads guilty to U.S. gambling charges
Former Toronto Raptor Jontay Porter has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in U.S. federal court, according to the Associated Press.
Porter admitted to purposely withdrawing from NBA games so his co-conspirators could win prop bets based on his performance in order to help pay off his gambling debts.
He’ll be sentenced on Dec. 18 and could face a maximum penalty of up to 20 years of jail time. He’s also facing the likelihood of hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution and fines.
North American integrity monitors raised red flags surrounding Porter due to multiple prop betting irregularities relating to two games he played in on Jan. 26 and March 20. Porter left the first of those contests with an eye injury and the second due to illness, which allowed the under to cash on his player props. DraftKings Sportsbook, which widely distributes daily sports betting insights to members of the media, including Canada Sports Betting, reported on both of those occasions that his player props were suspiciously highly profitable for bettors.
Porter, who is also under investigation in Canada by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario’s Enforcement Bureau, told the U.S. court that he’s currently undergoing therapy for a gambling problem. He’s been banned for life by the NBA for his gambling issues.
Four other men have been charged with scheming to profit off tips from an NBA player in a related U.S. case.
The 24-year-old appeared in 26 games for the Raptors last season and earned an NBA salary of roughly $410,000.
