Kambi, a provider of technology for sports betting, is gearing up to enhance its footprint in Ontario, a highly competitive landscape for online gaming worldwide, by assuming control of the sports betting services offered by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
This announcement, which was made public on Monday, is subject to the finalization of a new agreement. Should the contract be approved, the current vendor of OLG, FDJ Group, will hand over its rights and duties regarding PROLINEOntario sports betting app and the retail network of the lottery to Kambi for the forthcoming seven years.
Once the new agreement is finalized, Kambi’s management intends to deploy its platform in the latter half of this year.
Ontario: A Distinctive Gaming Market in Canada
Ontario stands as Canada’s most densely populated province, home to around 16 million inhabitants. Comparatively, in the U.S., only New York and Florida have larger populations in states where sports wagering is permitted.
Nevertheless, those states do not have nearly as many licensed operators as Ontario does. iGaming Ontario reports that there are 50 registered operators in the only province where products from the lottery compete directly with licensed online offerings.Ontario sports betting apps, such as BetVictor and 888Sport.
In OLG's annual report for the 2023-24 fiscal year, published last November, President and CEO Duncan Hannay noted that this competition compels the provincial lottery to innovate and deliver engaging new products and experiences to retain customers and enhance the growth of its Digital segment.
The digital sector of the lottery, encompassing its online casino and lottery offerings, yielded a profit of CAD $332 million for the province. That same year, iGaming Ontario disclosed that the combined revenues from sports betting and peer-to-peer poker applications reached $1.4 billion.Ontario online casino Considering the totality of online offerings, it's also hard to assess how private operators influence the lottery's sales since single-game betting has only been permitted in Canada since 2021.
From a retail standpoint, OLG collaborates with approximately 10,000 licensed businesses and entities. As per the 2023-24 annual report, revenue from retail sports betting amounted to an estimated CAD $94 million.
Kambi is now the latest partner in a line of over 40 operators it collaborates with worldwide, including recognized operators like Bally BET and others that are licensed in Ontario.
Kambi ‘Excited’ About Opportunity
Kambi's CEO Werner Becher expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration with a partner as significant as OLG, stating that while Ontario has a highly competitive online marketplace, he believes that the partnership will enable PROLINE to effectively compete with industry leaders and continue enhancing its retail offering.BetRivers Sportsbook Online Casino Games in Ontario Bring Exciting Features and More
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Fromdeereplanet.com
USA Today photo by Nick Turchiaro
