For those who are unsure about the term iGaming, it refers to any form of online betting on the outcome of an event or game. This covers a wide range of online activities, including online casinos, sports betting websites, eSports, and online poker games. At the time of writing, iGaming is legal in many countries around the world, including Canada and the United States but is it possible for the Canadian iGaming market to ever compete with the US?
iGaming Revenue
If we look at the figure for total iGaming revenue for December 2022 in the United States, it amounts to $459.9 million. This was an increase of 16.7% across all states where iGaming is legal in the US when compared to same month in 2021. If we take the first 11 months of 2022, the total iGaming revenue for the United States was estimated at almost $54 billion. That is a 13.5% increase on the same period in 2021, so iGaming is still growing in the US. The current worth of the Canadian iGaming market is believed to be just over $12 billion, which is some way behind the US. This figure is expected to increase over the next five years as more regions begin to legalize online gambling in Canada.
Regulation of iGaming in Canada
There are many states in the US which have their own regulations for iGaming. Since 2018, states have had control over their own regulations and several have introduced legislation and organizations for legal iGaming. Ontario is a good example of a Canadian province that has done something similar to the likes of New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. Ontario have launched a new organization called iGaming Ontario and this will regulate iGaming companies in the province of Ontario. The creation of this organization has led to an increase in the number of people participating in iGaming in Canada and allowed several online gambling brands, such as Casumo online casino, to successfully and safely launch their product in Canada. As more provinces follow in the footsteps of Ontario, the more people will begin to gamble online and the closer Canada will get to the revenue figures seen in the United States.
Canadian iGaming More Progressive than the US
The Canadian iGaming scene can compete with the US because iGaming is more progressive in Canada than the United States. The payment methods in Canada are easier to use and this makes the whole iGaming experience run smoothly. The taxation surrounding iGaming in Canada is superior to that of the US and that will entice more brands to offer their iGaming services to Canadian players. iGaming developers have more creative freedom in Canada when compared to the US and that could lead to a superior selection of games.
However, there are some areas where Canada needs to improve to compete with the US iGaming industry. Making iGaming more appealing to a wider audience and the launch of more domestic iGaming operators will help and it will be interesting to see if Canadian iGaming can compete with the US over the next decade.
