Legal single-sports betting will start on April 4 in Ontario, Canada. That will allow sports betting providers to start operating legally in the province and take their first single-sports wagers without breaking the law.

It is fair to say that there is a lot of interest in the wagering industry for the Ontario market, and some of the biggest sportsbooks in the world have already stated their intention of working with Canadian bettors. Australia-based bookmaker PointsBet is one of them.

Better Player Protection

iGaming Ontario will oversee sports betting in the province. It is an agency of the Government of Ontario and Ontario’s Alcohol and Gaming Commission subsidiary. The agency that will manage and conduct sports betting in Ontario said that private operators that have registered with the Government of Ontario and have an agreement with the agency can start taking bets on April 4.

Martha Otton, the iGaming Ontario executive director, assured consumers that all betting providers that enter the Ontario market had met “rigorous standards” related to fairness, player protection, integrity, and social responsibility.

Ontario Bettors Can Place Single-Event Wagers

Under the new wagering rules, Canadian punters will be able to bet on single matches and events. Canadian bettors can still only bet on combo bets consisting of multiple selections, but that will change on April 4.

The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) estimated that the fact that single wagers were illegal led to many Canadians spending billions of dollars at unregulated offshore sportsbooks.

The Biggest Sportsbooks in the Industry are Interested

What makes the Ontario betting market so appealing is the unlimited number of sportsbook slots available. All betting operators that apply for a license and get into an agreement with iGaming Ontario will be able to offer their services to Ontario bettors legally. There’s no cap on the number of sportsbooks that can operate in Ontario.

That means that a lot of sportsbooks will enter the Canadian market, including Australia-based PointsBetBetMGM, and DraftKingsFanDuel, backed by Sportsbet’s owner Flutter Entertainment, is also said to be interested and has already started operating in Ontario’s capital – Toronto.

Scot Vanderwel, the CEO of the Canadian offshoot of PointsBet Holdings, was delighted that the Ontario government led by Premier Doug Ford ushered legal sports wagering into the province.

Vanderwel said that PointsBet will continue to work with their government partners so that they protect Canadian bettors and create a fair environment for all punters participating in the “responsible and licensed gaming market.”

Will Boost the Local Economy

It is estimated that the Ontario betting market will generate US$989 million (A$1.4 billion) in revenue in 2022, but will increase to US$1.86 billion (A$2.63 billion) in four-years time. The Vixio GamblingCompliance research took late-2021/early-2022 as the start of Ontario’s legal single-sport betting, so those figures might be slightly lower because the market won’t open until early April.

One thing’s for sure, though. With a tax rate of 20 per cent, Ontario’s schools, businesses and the local community will definitely feel the perks of licensed and regulated sports betting in the province. So will Ontario bettors.

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