Understanding Ontario Sports Betting Handle And Revenue

All About Ontario Sports Betting Handle And Revenue

In April 2022, Ontario sports betting and online casinos launched, but it wasn’t until late 2024 that monthly reports were available. Before then, iGaming Ontario, which administers legal, regulated gambling in Canada’s largest province, only released quarterly numbers.

OntarioBets.com brings you this guide to explain terms such as handle and revenue for mobile sports wagering and online casinos (also known as iGaming).

In 2024, sports betting – a category that also includes esports, props and novelty bets – accounted for more than $10.87 billion in handle, which is the industry term for total wagers accepted.

The companies offering Ontario sportsbook apps include major companies with name recognition across North America, including BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel.

However, there are also dozens of operators that are either Canada-based or ones that made their name primarily in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom.

You can place a wager with any of those Ontario sports betting companies. Anyone interested can sign up and use their smart phone, laptop or desktop computer to wager.

The iGO administers online gaming in the province but the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario regulates legal wagering in the province, offering the most robust gaming market in Canada. The iGO is a subsidiary of the AGCO.

The same applies for Ontario online casinos, which draw more wagers than sports betting. For instance, in 2024, online casinos accounted for more than $65 billion in wagers.

Ontario Sports Betting, May vs. April

	Total handle	Total revenue
May	$8.066B	$338.0M
April	$7.795B	$313.3M
Change	Up 3.5%	Up 7.9%

The competitive Ontario gaming market set another record in May as bettors in Canada’s most populous province wagered nearly $8.1 billion during the month.

The $8.066 billion handle was up 3.5% from April’s $7.795 billion, according to figures reported by iGaming Ontario on June 26. It was the first time that the province’s total gambling handle exceeded $8 billion; the mark had been $7.954 billion, set in March.

Casino gaming represented 86% of the handle, and the $6.950 billion wagered in May also broke the monthly record of $6.621 billion. That, too, was set in March.

Sports and event betting operators accepted $972 million in wagers during May. That fell 8.9% from April’s handle of $1.067 billion. Online poker wagering remained the same in May as it was in April, a total of $144 million.

It wasn’t just the handle that set a record as operators reported $338 million in revenue for online casino, sports and poker combined. That rose 7.9% from April’s $313.3 million, and broke the previous record ($328.4 million from January) by nearly $10 million.

Casino apps also set a record, with the $259.8 million in revenue breaking the record set in April of $242.8 million, an increase of 7%. Sports betting revenue rose 11.3% from April’s $64.5 million to $71.8 million in May, and the online poker rake of $6.3 million was up 6.8% from the $5.9 million reported in April.

Ontario Sports Betting Handle and Revenue FAQs

Sports betting and iGaming in Ontario launched in April 2022. Since then, it has become the largest regionalized gaming market in North America. The total market in the United States is larger than Canada but Ontario’s market has seen more handle than any state, with New York being the biggest legal market in the USA.

As of late 2024, iGaming Ontario issues numbers each month for wagering revenue and handle throughout the province. In the first two-plus years after the market launched, numbers were submitted quarterly. Monthly numbers are released 2-3 weeks after the end of each month.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario regulates legal wagering in the province. Its subsidiary, iGaming Ontario, administers legal online wagering for sports and casino games.

The money placed by bettors using online devices – such as desktops, laptops or mobile phones – is referred to as mobile sports betting handle.

Handle is simply the amount of wagers accepted each month. Anyone wishing to place a bet must be physically located within Ontario’s borders to wager. Revenue is the money that operators keep after they pay out winning bets. The province offers Ontario online poker in a peer-to-peer format as well as sports betting and casino games such as slots and other card games.

Author

Steve Bittenbender

Steve is an accomplished, award-winning reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering gaming, sports, politics and business. He has written for the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square and numerous other publications. Based in Louisville, Ky., Steve has covered the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and other gaming matters. He shares his expertise on OntarioBets, among other sites.