Among all the excitement about online sports betting in Ontario, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that it will almost certainly be online casinos, also made legal on April 4th, that are going to be the big earners.
It’s only necessary to look at the relative performance of sports betting and online casinos in the US.
In states where both are legal, betting in online casinos scooped a mighty 153% in revenue for owners, and a whopping 339% yield in taxes for the state, over sports betting.
After legalization day, Monday, April 4th, predictions are that Canada will follow the same pattern.
AltCasino is a firm believer that Canadian gambling patterns will replicate those of the US and that there will be some huge revenue gain opportunities for both owners and the State of Ontario. Online sports betting is lucrative, but it pales in comparison with casinos.
Ontario is only the sixth place to legalize and regulate online betting on sports and online gambling in virtual casinos in Canada and the US, the others being Connecticut, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New Jersey.
It’s expected that the revenues will be eye-popping.
Taking the states of West Virginia, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, the four states scooped US$3.8 billion in operator income. This compares to a relatively modest US$1.5 billion for the owners of sports betting operations. And even more astonishing, that US $3.8 billion was more than the sports betting revenue of all the other states put together.
Taxes are even more interesting. Taking local and state taxes together, the casinos produced a hefty US$976.8 million take, as against the sports betting figure of US$222.4 million. That is a big win for state and local governments.
So it isn’t surprising that organizations best known for their sports betting interests are moving into investing in the online casino business.
Companies such as BetMGM, Fanduel, and Draftkings have spotted a great opportunity, and are busy buying in. sports betting does suffer from seasonality, whereas casinos are a 24/7/365 business opportunity and revenue earner.
Alt-Casino has identified the trend for revenue to be robust, and to grow strongly with no real signs of decline. Higher profits and less fluctuation in income make online casinos a must acquire for sports betting interests.
So what can Ontario expect? Just across the border is Michigan. Michigan received US$279.3 million in tax revenues, 2,364% more than it got from sports betting. So this is going to be a major new revenue stream, offering tremendous opportunities for the citizenry, as well as investors who are seeing good returns. But even Michigan didn’t get the maximum benefit it could have received, because of a loophole allowing promotional credits to be offset against tax obligations.
It’s important then that Ontario ensures strict and fair regulation to make its online casinos both attractive to players and owners, and lucrative for the hosting province.