iGaming Ontario, the government body that is in charge of regulating the competitive online gambling and sports betting market in Canada’s most populous province, has announced that the first year of the competitive market has generated more than 1.6 billion dollars for the province.
The figure resulted from research conducted by Deloitte, the famous international auditing company, which estimated that Ontario’s open and regulated iGaming market sustained over 12,000 full-time jobs and contributed 1.6 billion dollars to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the province. Around 900 million dollars from that total was represented by labor income.
Doug Downey, the Ontario Attorney General, said that the Ontario iGaming market has become “internationally recognized for creating a safe, legal and competitive landscape while supporting the province’s economy.”
The report compiled by Deloitte also revealed that the online gambling and sports betting industry in Ontario has the potential to expand even further and support around 22,000 full-time jobs. Moreover, the report adds that the industry could add up to 4.7 billion dollars to the GDP of Ontario and over 2.1 billion dollars in annual Government revenue by 2031-2032.
Dave Forestell, the Chairman of iGaming Ontario, said that the report proves that the regulated iGaming market in the province “is delivering real benefits to every resident of Ontario, whether they play or not. The igaming industry is a real economic driver in Ontario.”