• At the moment, of the close to $1 billion that the provincial government says Ontarians spend gambling online every year, about 70 per cent goes to sites that are unregulated here, big-name players like Bet365, PokerStars and Betway.

By Christine DobbyBusiness Reporter

Hundreds of dollars in sign-up bonuses. Candy-coloured slots and fast-paced games of blackjack and poker. And then ... those intense dopamine hits that come with a big win. All from the smartphone in your hand.

It’s no surprise that over the past two decades, online gambling has grown into a massive global market. With billions in revenue going to websites run by overseas operators, it was only a matter of time before Canada’s biggest province set its sights on making a killing for itself — by recouping a good chunk of that money in taxes.

At the moment, of the close to $1 billion that the provincial government says Ontarians spend gambling online every year, about 70 per cent goes to sites that are unregulated here, big-name players like Bet365, PokerStars and Betway.

In other words, it’s the Wild West. Offshore betting in Ontario is a grey area and since it’s unregulated, the province can do little to keep minors away from betting, help gamblers with addiction issues and combat money laundering.

Now, Ontario is poised to follow the lead of European countries such as Denmark and the United Kingdom and U.S. states like New Jersey. As of December, the plan is for it to become the first province in Canada to allow private companies — including websites licensed outside Canada — to legally offer online gambling to its residents.

“There’s a paradigm shift from criminalizing online gambling to decriminalizing online gambling, primarily because of the player protection aspect,” said Yaniv Spielberg, co-founder and chief strategy officer at Bragg Gaming Group, a Toronto-based gaming technology provider.

Source: https://www.thestar.com/business/2021/09/30/inside-the-battle-for-control-of-ontarios-soon-to-be-legal-online-gambling-market.html