Canadian Players Invest Millions Annually on Sports Betting!

As Canada's best sports teams thrive in current sports competitions, the rise in interest of the Canadian audience in sports betting activities has been well noted.

Reports regarding sports betting trends in Canada have revealed a growth worth about $2M in spending from Canadian audiences going towards sports betting activities.

For the quarter ending March 31st 2023, a total of 13.9 million Canadian dollars were invested in sports gambling and online casino activities across the country.

The success of popular Canadian athletes and sports teams definitely contributes to this sharp rise in how much bettors in Canada are willing to spend on their sports betting habits.

The Toronto Maple Leafs seem to have the odds in their favour for the Stanley Cup and the prominence of the Edmonton Oilers in NHL playoffs is also a factor that comes into play. Fans across Canada are showing their support by betting on their home teams and favourite players.

At the moment, Canada's sports betting industry, both land-based and online, is at a peak point.

What also explains the audience's extreme interest in sports betting is its recent regulation across the country.

Of course, following the regulation of online casino activity and sports betting in Canada, it has become a lot easier for players and bettors to access gambling opportunities from the comfort of their homes.

Sports betting has actually been legal in Canada since the 80s, and statistics have shown that despite its recent regulation starting in April 2022, land-based sports betting outlets maintain more success than online sportsbooks in Canada.

If you're interested in having more details about this, we suggest you take a look at one of our past blog posts.

This is not to say that Canadians are not placing bets online. Quite the contrary actually.

The availibility of sports betting options on the web has greatly affected the statistics of Canadian sports betting trends. Statistics Canada recently released a report which outlined how the numbers have grown across the country.

In general, Canada has seen an increase of 45% in investments made in this industry. Information was also given to us regarding its reception in specific states:

• a 60% increase in Ontario

• 40% more interest shown by players in Alberta

• a growth of 37% in British Columbia

• 33% in Manitoba

• and an increase of 17% from Quebecois players

These numbers are pretty significant and are majorly made up of two types of sports bettors.

For the most part, we have bettors who are participating in what we could describe as non-risky sports betting activities.

Players who are pumped about their favourite sports teams participating in international sports events might find themselves more inclined to bet on them. The act of gambling does inevitably make watching the game more exciting and appealing.

This is a type of betting that falls under the category of entertainment.

While sports betting is generally deemed to be less dangerous than casino and live casino gaming, there is nevertheless a demographic of bettors who are at risk of bankruptcy or gambling addiction.

A substantial amount of players are gambling to make money, almost considering the act of gambling and betting online as their employment. Of course, players who are so regularly active on their online casino and sportsbooks accounts, greatly contribute to how these statistics have shot up and would be at greater risk of falling into addiction.

Assistant Sports Management Professor Michael Naraine from Brock University Ontario emphasises how inevitable it was that these figures would change so drastically since the regulation of the igaming market in Ontario and the rest of Canada.

This is just the begging, Naraine says.

However, the professor does also place our attention on the fact that with the rise in interest audiences display in sports betting and gambling activities, managing problem gambling becomes a more pressing matter.

This is especially when ongoing sports events lead players to spend more money on sports betting.

Ontario has already taken serious steps towards this, taking into consideration vulnerable audiences such as regular gamblers and children the most.

With the recent ban imposed by the Alcohol and Gambling Commission on the appearance of celebrity athletes in igaming ads, we are curious to see how the sports betting market will be affected.

We believe this market will feel the effects of this law more strongly than online casinos due to the fact that of course, sports betting revolves around well-known sports teams and players.