If you've lived in Toronto for a while, or anywhere else in Canada really, you've likely seen gambling become more prevalent than it was. Even if you're not a gambler yourself. There was a time having a gamble meant finding a poker game, buying a lottery ticket, or going to the horse races. Today, you can gamble on your phone from anywhere at any time - and promotions are on social media feeds, in sports games and at TTC stops.
That change is more evident in Ontario than in some other provinces. Others have followed, and the Canadian market more broadly has evolved with international trends. However, Ontario made the first big move. Gambling in Toronto has not been the same since.
From Underground to Everywhere
In April 2022 Ontario opened up a locally regulated online casino and sports betting market. This expanded the number of options massively overnight. It also added legitimacy to the market. Operators could now openly work with Canadian marketing companies and advertise in public spaces. They could even open offices in Toronto, and work with major sports teams like the historic Blue Jays. And crucially, they could be regulated and taxed locally.
Because companies based outside of Canada were growing in other provinces. In fact, that was part of what prompted Ontario's move in the first place. All that missed tax money.
If you look at a maintained overview of the Canadian casino market as provided by Covers, you'll see different options to those in Ontario or Alberta. Resources like these are important to players in such a fragmented market. That's because Canadian players assess licensing and international reputation as much as bonuses and games, before making a choice.
Today there is a lot of competition both nationally and in Ontario and Alberta. The market is worth billions of dollars, with $82 billion wagered in Ontario alone in 2025. Operators made several billion in revenues, and have paid well over a billion dollars to the province in revenue sharing agreements.
Those are big numbers. However, the average Toronto resident sees it in a DraftKings ad at the subway stop. A billboard for theScore Bet outside the Rogers Centre. Your favourite NHL podcast now being sponsored by BetMGM.
You might be among one of the millions of Ontarians who regularly gamble online. Or not. Either way the rise of the business has been essentially inescapable.
Even Old-School Gambling Venues Have Adapted or Closed
Physical casinos haven't escaped these changes either. While online casinos have been booming, Canada's old-school physical casino operators have had to adapt. Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto is the obvious example. It replaced the old and jaded OLG Slots at Woodbine Racetrack, which attracted a certain kind of clientele. And few else.
The new resort opened in 2023, costing more than $1 billion to build. Admittedly, it doesn't have the best reputation among locals - but the architecture alone is a striking upgrade on the old 2000s building.
It also demonstrates the prevailing global attitude towards physical casinos. Combine it with restaurants, concert venues, retail and other experiences, to make a complete resort. This approach has proved financially successful, for the most part, even as many gamblers move online.
Overall the GTA has actually seen its number of physical casino options rise in the past decade. Even in the face of increased online competition. One plan from Ontario is to entice Las Vegas-style casino resorts to the Niagara Falls area. It currently hosts Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation is right now exploring new partners to add to that list.
Change Isn't All Bad - More Regulation Works
The main reason gambling Ontario made gambling into a regulated market, was because Ontarians were gambling anyway. Just at sites based outside of Canada with no local oversight. Or taxation.
If you don't gamble, you might not like seeing adverts for it while you watch the Blue Jays. Heck, even if you do gamble chances are you don't like seeing adverts for it. Yet, this is where we are.
Prohibition does not work to stop people gambling. Especially in places like Canada, where there's no national law stopping them using global gambling sites based elsewhere.
Hands up if you've heard of Stake? Of course you have. That's an offshore brand, and it will have rarely if ever been physically advertised in Ontario or Toronto. But still you know it.
Meanwhile with the billions raised in taxes since the market opened in 2022, the OLGC can fund problem gambling treatment and responsible gambling initiatives. Players have more protections and regulatory fallback if there is a dispute. $150 million has been allocated to First Nations development.
Locally-regulated gambling also means jobs. Remember all that advertising? Someone produced it, and now that is more likely to be a local from Toronto or wider Ontario who was paid to do so. It is estimated that regulated gambling supports some 10,000 jobs across the province. That covers direct workers for gambling companies, but also back-end services like tech, compliance, legal and marketing.
So yeah, you can see how this might be frustrating if you don't gamble. You see an online casino ad on your phone, while a sports betting segment plays on the TV and your buddy talks about last night's failed parlay and you think - what happened?
But the truth is, Ontarians were gambling anyway. It's just different now.
