Sports betting in Ontario is set to finally make, with a launch date in the Spring of 2022 having been set.
A recent update from iGaming Ontario (iGO), the regulator for the industry within the province, has revealed that the market will launch on April 4, and there is already rumors suggesting that around 30 different online operators are already looking to go live given the number of unlimited licenses that are understood to be available.
Indeed, the introduction of a legal sports betting market has been a long and tiring journey for those who have bartered for it but they have finally been rewarded for their hard work as it will finally come to fruition and one that could be huge for Ontario. The state has a population of approximately 15 million, which would rank it fifth in the US, and the market is predicted to generate up to CAD $570 million in 2022 by some estimates to have been made.
It will certainly be an exciting time once the market has gone live, but is there anything that they can learn from the US given that their southern neighbors have – and continue – to go through a rather similar process at the moment?
Tax revenue will immediately be increased
One of the major benefits that the province of Ontario will be able to immediately benefit from by regulation and making sports betting legal within the region will be the positive impact that the activity will have in regard to tax revenue. Indeed, you only need to look at the early numbers from betting in New York to see how much tax will be generated, with the numbers being rather astounding.
The additional revenues that will be generated will be incredibly useful for the province as it will be able to spend the finances that have been acquired to help improve a number of things around the region, including infrastructure and housing amongst other things.
Unemployment rates can go down
Recent figures showed that Ontario currently has an unemployment rate that has started to decrease month-on-month, perhaps as the region continues its recovery after a devastating global crisis.
However, there is no doubt that the introduction of legal sports betting should help to bring that rate down even further once the market goes live in the Spring. As of January 2022, the December 2021 unemployment figure was 6.1% (down from 6.5% the month before) but as more jobs will be brought to Ontario, there will be plenty of opportunities to bring the figure down even further.
Experienced sportsbook operators can help the industry to boom
Although it would seem obvious, it is clear that if the Ontario market is to be a success, then it will need the biggest and most experienced sportsbook operators to go live as soon as the market does.
As we saw in the US, there were a number of partnerships created between American firms and European firms that were already firmly established within the industry in various areas around the world. The knowledge, range of expertise, and skills that they have are invaluable and will make a huge difference going forward. If implemented correctly, then there is every reason to believe the market will be a success, especially as it has the potential to be a huge one.
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