Legacy jurisdictions set to take a hit when Ontario regulates online casino

OnlineCasinoList.com research shows older dot com licences will not be as profitable in Canada’s biggest market following regulation 

The impact of regulation in Ontario, Canada, will lead to a decline in the take-up of legacy online licenses, according to new research by Canadian casino list portal, Online Casino List.

Once it becomes regulated in Q1 2022, Ontario will offer operators the opportunity to legally serve a province that currently makes up 43% of revenues of the whole Canadian online casino market. The costs of obtaining a licence will be around CA$100,000 and taxation rates are set at 20%.

Opting for the existing tribal Kahnawake licence, which costs $118,725 with a 0% tax rate, will still give operators who do not opt for to take an Ontario licence the chance to serve the remaining 57% of Canada’s online gaming market, with fewer restrictions on marketing and gameplay.

However, Online Casino List’s findings are that increased channelisation away from grey market offerings in Canada is an inevitable consequence of Ontario’s impending regulation. That potentially spells bad news for licences such as that offered by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, as well as those supplied by regulators in Curaçao and Malta.

Other Canadian provinces, including British-Columbia, are expected to follow Ontario and regulate in the coming years, resulting in further problems for legacy online jurisdictions in Canada.

“This risk/reward analysis means Kahnawake will take a hit when Ontario introduces its licence,” said David Overmars of Online Casino List. “Even though it doesn’t serve Canadian casinos as much as Curacao and Malta do, the rise of local licences in general should worry Kahnawake. It doesn’t have the population to provide its own local licence, and lacks the reputation that Malta has.”

Online Casino List’s extensive research strongly indicates that major operators will not be content to fly under the radar to attract grey market players and will instead opt to take up the Ontario licence.