How broader sports gambling has fared in Ontario and how it may change next

Sports betting? It's been hard to avoid mention of it, if you live in Ontario.

Since the province launched its regulated online gaming market a year ago, you've likely seen the ads, heard the hype, and at this point, you know how to partake.

Canada made single-event sports betting legal in 2021, but Ontario was first to move ahead with a regulated sports betting program — allowing multiple operators to provide legal, online sports gambling services.

This more liberalized world of sports betting has captivated many Ontarians, who are providing enough business for more than two dozen companies to compete for this sports-related segment of the broader provincial online gaming market.

"From a consumer point of view, it's been a success," said Michael Naraine, an associate professor in the Department of Sport Management at Brock University, in St. Catharines, Ont.

"If you're a fan of of gambling and sports gambling, you've been happy with how things have rolled out."

Yet industry experts and operators say more changes are on the horizon for sports betting in Canada, as the product offerings evolve and the market matures.

Twelve months in, the Ontario government appears satisfied with the state of the regulated online gaming market, which has operators offering casino and poker games, in addition to sports gambling services.

In an email, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Attorney General said Ontario's "safe, legal, and competitive online gaming market" is creating business opportunities, protecting consumers and providing revenue that "helps pay for government priorities."

Reporting from iGaming Ontario (iGO), a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, shows billions in wagers made in each of the