Ontario’s six real money online poker operators combined for CAD $18 million in revenue in Q2, according to the provincial regulator, iGaming Ontario (iGO). That means the second quarter, the period that ended on September 30, was the second-highest three-month period for online poker revenue since the regulated poker market launched in April 2022.
Online poker revenue was up 12.5%, on both a year-over-year basis and compared to the preceding quarter; poker grossed $16 million in both Q2 2023 and Q1 2024. Data from iGO show poker has entered a pattern where revenue improves every year starting with its Q1 — suggesting the floor for revenue in Q1 2025 could very well be $17 million or more. Not bad.
CADOntario Online Poker RevenueOntarioQ1 2023Q2 2023Q3 2023Q4 2023Q1 2024Q2 202414M15M16M17M18M19M20M
Q2 2024 CAD● Poker: 18,000,000
Peer-to-peer poker also racked up $417 million in wagers during Q2, making the quarter the third-highest overall for wagers, at least since iGO started to report poker wagers (and revenue) separately from online casino gaming and sports betting.
Wagers from poker also show a pattern where operators improve each year after Q1. The face that poker wagers totaled $402 million in Q1 2024, the period that ended on March 31 of this year, suggests the floor for wagers in Q1 2025 could be around $410 million.Also, not bad.
But two ongoing developments suggest even better quarters lay ahead for online poker in Ontario.
CADOntario Online Poker WagersOntarioQ1 2023Q2 2023Q3 2023Q42023Q12024Q22024325M350M375M400M425M450M47M
Q4 2023 CAD● Poker: 446,000,000
More Shared Liquidity on Horizon
Both ongoing developments involve shared liquidity — quite a bit of it.
On one front, Ontario AG Doug Downey will be heading to the province’s highest court next month to see if online poker operators can rejoin the international player pool. Downey first petitioned the Court of Appeal for Ontario through an Order in Council filed on February 2.
Downey wants the court to decide whether international play is legal or runs afoul of the federal Criminal Code. The Supreme Court of Canada will likely have the final word on the matter, but a ruling in favor of allowing international play would greatly expand shared liquidity — and lead to bigger prize pools and bigger prizes.
It would also mark a total reversal by iGO on whether Ontario should be a segregated market for online poker. Back in 2022, regulators ring fenced the province and compelled operators like GGPoker and PokerStars to serve Ontario players through licenses issued by the province, not from offshore.
Today, it appears that Ontario’s online poker operators have adopted game integrity and player protections to iGO’s liking. Regulators have also been lobbied by GGPoker and the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) for a return of international liquidity.
