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Annnnnd it’s full steam ahead for betting operator Betsson, as they announce the launch of their Betsafe brand to the Ontarian gaming market. It’s an exciting move for the brand, as they increase their global footprint after developing a stronghold in Europe and a listing on the NASDAQ Stockholm.
With a full contingent of B2C offerings across both the online casino space and sports betting, along with a license to sell sportsbook operations in the B2B market, it’s a bold move by Betsson that’s likely to pay off.
Why Ontario?
Ontario is one of the newly regulated iGaming markets that has gone live over the past several years in the North American geographic area. Since just April 2022, Ontarians have been able to play at online casinos and sports betting sites from within the province. Under regulations developed by iGaming Ontario, a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, the market has blossomed into a thriving industry in just a year.
Betsson’s launch in Ontario follows strategic growth by the company in Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. While these are not traditionally large markets for betting operators, their markets are less saturated and the opportunities for growth are obtainable with the right regional touch.
It’s another boon for the industry and consumers, as with more diversity in the space comes more competitive offerings from providers like Betsson. Ontarians will be able to enjoy online casino games with some great bonus codes from Betsafe. What’s more, even punters will be able to enjoy this newcomer to the province thanks to its sportsbook offerings.
How Betsafe will work in Ontario
Betsafe will be launching with their global online casino and sportsbook product line, which currently runs on Strive Gaming, a well-known North American iGaming platform provider. The platform is 40% owned by Betsson and counts Golden Nugget Online Gaming and Desert Diamond Mobile among their customers.
Betsafe will be available via the browser and native mobile apps on both Android and iPhone and will have a similar offering as its international counterparts.
With Betsson’s operator and supplier licenses, granted by iGaming Ontario, they are allowed to provide a B2C product for online casino and sportsbook gambling, as well as the opportunity to sell their sportsbook product in the B2B market. It’s a big win for Betsson, with the double arms of the business expanding into the Canadian economic growth industry.
The Betsson Background
Betsson, although not a household name to Ontarians or North Americans in general, was founded a full 80 years ago and is now licensed across 20 jurisdictions. Last year they made it known that their intent was to outgrow the current market, reaching for expansion into new areas and a larger focus on their sportsbook offerings. This represents a similar view of the wider industry: with advanced technologies, real-time operations, and new sports betting markets coming into existence at a rapid rate, the time for making moves is now. Like other operators, Betsson has been eyeing mergers and acquisitions, such as their 80% share takeover of KickerTech Malta Limited in 2022.
Betsson’s fortunes have been on the rise as revenues have been steeply climbing of late.
Betting in Canada
Not all of Canada has such widely available betting services available to the population. In fact, only seven of the provinces have legalized sports betting: Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, New Brunswick, British Columbia, Labrador, Quebec, and of course Ontario. As would be expected, the Ontario market is the most lucrative as it is home to the largest population in Canada.
There are currently almost 80 licensed iGaming operators in the province, including 888 Casino, BetMGM, Betway, Bet365, PartyPoker, Unibet, and more. While Betsson doesn’t have as big a market share in North America as some of these other larger players, with the right strategy they could be a boutique upstart in the industry.
The Ontario Market
While it’s still in its infancy, the Ontarian iGaming market is off to a great start. In Q3 of FY 2022-2023, there were $11.53 billion in total wagers placed, with $457 million in total gaming revenues. Over the same period, there were 36 operators with a total of 68 gaming websites, across almost 1 million player accounts with an average monthly spend of $167 for each. The quarter had a huge 71% increase in revenues over the previous Q2 quarter. This is indicative of a rapidly growing iGaming scene, which is no doubt highly attractive to international companies such as Betsson. We’re likely to see continued competition in the space and more operators gaining licenses over the next year and into the future, and we are excited to see what’s next to come in the space.