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Four years after launching its open but licensed online sports betting, casino and poker market, Ontario is still leading the charge to change up Canada’s online gambling sector. The province has the highest gambling tax revenue and betting operator revenues of any province or territory, with the competitive market having driven a large majority of gamblers away from untaxed offshore operators.
Yet some might think, conversely, that it also leads the way in regulation. Customer protections. Responsible gambling tools. Advertising limitations. Although there are critics who say regulation hasn’t gone far enough and that problem gambling remains a concern, Ontario has led the way in shaking up a system in which millions of Canadians gamble online anyway, without any local regulation.
How Ontario is on a Different Scale
Ontario’s online gambling market is one of the biggest in North America, let alone Canada. In 2025, operators generated approximately C$4 billion in revenue and paid approximately C$807 million to the province under revenue-sharing agreements. Revenue and the take for the province were both up 34% year-on-year compared to 2024. Now January and March 2026 have both been record months for total wagers, operator revenue and provincial revenue. Suggesting the growth is continuing apace for now, at least.
This revenue is higher than that of any provincially backed monopoly operator, such as Loto-Québec or PlayAlberta. The former does have revenues of around $3 billion a year, the majority of which goes directly to the province. However, Espacejeux’s online casino business was only a small percentage of that revenue. A lot of that $3 billion was from lotteries, scratch-tickets and physical casino gambling.
And there are many options available in Ontario. Some 70+ as of 2026 (the exact number changes fairly regularly). This is higher than in any other province in Canada and in most US markets.
For example, you only need to look at the list of licensed Ontario online casinos by a comparative reviewer like Casino.Guru to see how competitive the market is. These sites list detailed breakdowns of features that players assess in online casinos, such as payment speeds, game collections and welcome bonus offers.
Why Alberta is Following
The biggest development that shows why Ontario’s market is leading the way is that Alberta is set to follow. Its regulated online casino and sports betting market will open on July 13 2026.
Politicians in Alberta regularly cited the example of Ontario’s success in channelling gamblers away from offshore casinos into its regulated market when pushing for online gambling legislation in their own province. In fact, Albertans seeing adverts for sports betting during sports matches but not being able to legally use those Ontario-licensed operators was also an influence on public and political opinion.
Alberta had previously tried to run its own provincially backed operation, PlayAlberta, which launched in late 2020. However, this failed to attract the number of gamblers away from the offshore market that the provincial government expected. So, after nearly six years, they have now decided to bite the bullet and invite in regulated international competition. Just like Ontario.
Here are some things already known about Alberta’s upcoming launch, ahead of the July 13 opening date:
- More than 40 operators have already applied
- Internationally recognised brands like DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and bet365 on the list
- Offshore casinos must stop serving Albertans by the launch date – or face legal penalties
- Google and other companies are already updating their online ad rules
- Platforms are already open for browsing and preregistration – but no deposits or bets until launch
There are two major ways Alberta decided to take the lead on this one. One was introducing a self-exclusion system that gamblers can use to block themselves from all licensed operators at once. Ontario has this now, but it was only introduced in mid 2026. The second was not to allow international political or election betting, something that hasn’t been particularly controversial in Ontario but has been of some discussion globally.
Ontario Leads in Regulation Too
Because of its openness and many operators, you might be surprised to learn that Ontario’s gambling sector is among North America’s most tightly regulated. Between the two regulators – The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and iGaming Ontario – the province has some strict rules operators must follow if they’re to get long-term legal access to the market.
These rules haven’t stayed static either. Since launching in 2022, regulators have not been afraid to consult with operators, the public and other stakeholders to improve the systems.
For example, in recent years and months, the dual regulators have introduced:
- Bans on athlete endorsements in gambling advertising
- Tight controls on bonus advertising in physical media
- Expanded responsible gambling measures, including province-wide self-exclusion
- Increased enforcement against unlicensed operators
- New deposit-limit requirements for younger players on the provincially-operated OLG.ca
This shows Ontario’s regulators are not afraid to admit when they have made mistakes or to continue switching up the formula as new evidence comes in and concerns arise. Yet the province still leads Canada in gambling tax revenues and offshore market capture.
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