October 12, 2023
Yesterday, iGaming Ontario released its results for the period of July, August and September of 2023 - their 2nd quarter. Given the seasonality of both sports betting and casino gaming in general, whereby the summer months can really see a dip in participation due to fewer sporting events of interest and more activities to draw Ontarians outside during the warmest months, the results show no significant drop off from iGO's Q1 results.
Despite no NHL and NBA games in the period, and only a month or so of NFL games upon which to wager, those participating at legal Ontario sportsbooks placed $1.9 billion in wagers, down just $100 million, or 5%, from the even $2 billion wagered in Q1. Ontarians must really love their baseball, tennis and golf betting, given that the "handle" trend from quarter to quarter is nearly flat. The revenue on Ontario's Q2 sports wagers was $118 million, which represents a "sportsbook hold" of approximately 6%.
Perhaps surprisingly, given seasonality, the Q2 online casino wagers in Ontario actually went up 2.5%, quarter over quarter, to $11.9 billion, from $11.6 billion. While this is impressive, the standout result within the report is the comparison between the Q2 2023/24 results and those from Q2 of 2022/23. What a difference a year makes. With a more complete roster of operators putting in a full 3 month period this year, the $540 million in total gaming revenue in Q2 of 2023/24 is a 105% increase over Q2 of the previous year.
Despite what appear to be clear economic headwinds and likely recession in the coming months, with the NFL in full swing and the holiday season to come, we expect record results for iGO in Q3. It should be the best ever results for iGaming Ontario for any 3 month period, by just about every measure.
Back to SNBET's Ontario sports betting news.
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