The third quarter of the fiscal year for Ontario online casinos and sports wagering produced historic returns for operators, with double-digit percentage gains for both camps between October and December.
In total, Ontario sports betting and casinos operators took in $17.2 billion of total wagers during the three-month period, which wrapped up the 2023 calendar year. That figure represented a 21.1% increase from the second quarter of the fiscal year (July to October), when $14.2 billion was bet in the province.
The body that manages betting in the province, iGaming Ontario, reported the Q3 figures on Wednesday. Ontario reports its figures quarterly, as opposed to U.S. betting markets, where each state reports its figures monthly. The fiscal year for calculating handle and revenue at Ontario betting sites runs from April to March, so the third quarter of the fiscal year is the fourth quarter of the calendar year (October to December).
Ontario Casino And Sports Betting Totals, FY 2023-24 Q3 Vs. Q2
Breakdown Of Ontario Gaming Handle, Revenue
Of the $17.2 billion wagered in Q3, $13.7 billion came from casino play – that includes slots, live and computer-based table games and peer-to-peer bingo contests. That amount was a 15.1% increase from the second quarter of 2023, when Ontario’s total came out to $11.9 billion.
The handle for what iGaming Ontario classifies as “betting” – meaning wagering at Ontario sports betting apps for sporting events, esports, prop bets, novelty bets and exchange wagers – wound up at $3.1 billion in the third quarter. That was a 72.2% boost from the second quarter’s total of $1.8 billion.
As far as peer-to-peer poker was concerned, Ontario operators took in a total handle of $431 million in the third quarter, which was up 8.6% from the second quarter of 2023, when players wagered $397 million.
Ontario Gaming Revenues Up Across Board In Q3
As far as financials were concerned, the third financial quarter lived up to the hype in Canada’s largest province. According to the iGaming Ontario report, the province made $658 million in total gaming revenue, up 21.9% from $540 million in Q2.
Of that, $471 million came in from casino revenues, which was up 15.7% from Q2, when the facilities took in $407 million in revenue. Betting operators saw an even greater increase, a 44.9% spike from $118 million in July-September to $171 million from October-December.
Finally, P2P (peer-to-peer) Ontario online poker operators reported $17 million in revenues during the third quarter, which represented a 6.3% jump from the $16 million taken in during the second quarter.
