Ontario’s First Year of Online Gambling Generated CA$1.6bn in GDP

Ontario’s decision to become the first Canadian province to offer a regulated online gambling market for private operators appears to have been a great one. Deloitte published a report on Wednesday that details some of the market’s debut year key results.

Between sports betting and online gambling, these sectors either indirectly or directly employ nearly 10,000 people and generated CA$761m (US$571m) in total government revenue in the initial 12 months. This includes CA$470m (US$353m) for Ontario, CA$238m (US$179m) for the federal government, and CA$54m (US$40.5m) for municipalities.

Ontario’s gross domestic product (GDP) benefitted to the tune of CA$1.6bn (US$1.2bn) and will increase to an estimated CA$4.7bn (US$3.5bn) in a decade.

1.6 million active accounts during the year

The 44 operators that run 76 gambling sites in the province took in revenue of CA$1.4bn (US$1bn) and contributed over $250m in tax revenue. The total online gambling sector handle was approximately CA$35.6bn (US$27.6bn) from 1.6 million active accounts during the year.

The battle against the unregulated gambling market also seems to be going well. According to a recent Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario survey, 85% of the respondents who gambled online in the previous three months did so through regulated platforms.