Over the last year, we have seen significant changes begin to positively affect Ontario’s online sports betting world. What was once the place to parlay will soon become Canada’s online sports betting paradise.
As the most populous province in Canada, this was always on the cards. ProLine+ is already very popular amongst the sports betting community, allowing you to place your parlays and single-game wagers from one convenient online hub. Naturally, the next step is to introduce more sportsbooks – but what about mobile wagering?
Putting a
spring
in Ontario’s sports betting steps
You have actually been able to wager on sports since 1985 as an Ontarian. However, the market, and sportsbook availability, has been extremely limited, allowing you to create parlays only.
The first spring in Ontario’s steps came in August 2021, when single-game wagering was legalized. Now, you could place your parlays, or singles, using the online ProLine Plus sportsbook. Prior to the introduction of ProLine Plus, it was noted that offshore sports betting had become prevalent across the province. In turn, this led the Government, and supporting bodies, to consider a restructure to their current processes and laws.
ProLine+ is currently overlooked by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), meaning all odds and operations are fair, safe, and secure in accordance with the OLG – something that could not be confirmed when making use of an offshore sports betting platform. Despite the great work of the OLG, the need for a broader collection of sportsbooks is evident.
Thankfully, in the background, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has been working hard to develop their own iGaming program, enabling a greater variety of private sportsbooks to join Ontario’s currently lackluster online and mobile market.
The AGCO has always implied that the main focus of the iGaming program was to ensure that you could still enjoy the full online sports betting experience while remaining safe. However, there is no doubt that the tax revenue from these private operators will greatly advance the province, too. As confirmed by iGO executive, Martha Otton, who said “Our new internet gaming market will give consumers enhanced entertainment choice, support the growth of a new, legal market and generate revenue that can help fund programs and services that benefit all of us.”
Speaking of tax revenue, this is one of the key contributing factors to the recent delay of the official online and mobile wagering launch. The launch of online gaming and mobile wagering was initially predicted to go live in December 2021; however, as terms were yet to be confirmed this had to be pushed back to April 4th, 2022 – let us hope there are no further pushbacks!
Waiting for the green light
Unsurprisingly, the chance to place parlays and single-game wagers on popular US and CA markets is creating a real buzz around the province. A few big names have already been confirmed, including
PointsBet
and Canada’s very own
theScore bet.
Waiting patiently on the sidelines you can find DraftKings, Caesars, FanDuel, BetRivers, and BetMGM – huge players across the online marketplace. If you are focused on mobile wagering, you’ll be pleased to hear that almost all of the aforementioned all provide dedicated mobile apps, too, which
should
all be available to you when online gaming and mobile wagering is officially launched in April, 2022.
Finding the perfect app for you
You are, no doubt, eagerly awaiting the official launch of mobile wagering across the province. However, it is also important to note that not every online sportsbook that ventures into the legal and licensed Ontarian market, will host its own dedicated mobile app. Or, if they do, they may well postpone the release date until the desktop platform has successfully launched and all glitches have been ironed out.
With this in mind, we advise having a browse of GamblingGuy.com and reading our great selection of mobile app reviews that are dedicated to giving you a complete insight into the best mobile sportsbooks. We cover the ease of use, accessibility, gaming markets available, security, and much more.
