These are exciting times in the legal North American sports betting market. More and more states have entered the US market with the launch of betting industries. Connecticut online sportsbooks just went live on Oct. 19.
At the end of August, Canada legalized sports bets on single games. Prior to that, the only legal betting market was betting multi-game parlays.
The addition of single-game wagers in Canada has caught the attention of legal US sportsbook operators. Looking at the big picture, expansion in North America just became even more lucrative.
BetRivers Ontario
Rush Street Interactive is a very successful gaming and entertainment company based in Chicago. Using the BetRivers brand, Rush Street has launched a social gaming site in Canada. This includes free betting on sports and casino games.
Within the next few months, BetRivers is looking to go live with real money sports betting and casino games. BetRivers Ontario is currently going through the regulatory and licensing process.
The immediate goal is to build a customer base in Ontario as the most populated province in Canada. The attraction of free social gaming will hopefully lead to conversions over to real money gaming once the site is licensed in the province.
Richard Schwartz is the CEO of Rush Street Interactive as the parent company of BetRivers. He released the following comments in relation to the new site:
“Our expansion into Canada represents an exciting new frontier for Rush Street Interactive (RSI) and continues our growth across the Americas. We look forward to providing a truly differentiated gaming experience for players in Ontario that is focused on fostering player trust and enjoyment.”
Canada becomes the third country with RSI gaming interests. Along with the US as the company’s primary market, Rush Street also has gaming interests in Columbia.
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As a whole, RSI is the fourth-largest online sports betting and casino operator in the legal US gaming market. The BetRivers brand has had its greatest success as a Pennsylvania online sportsbook and an Illinois online sportsbook. This is due to a strong retail presence through land-based casinos and sportsbooks.
Once single-game betting became legal in Canada on Aug. 27, plans to implement this change moved from a national level to each individual province. Ontario has been the most progressive province as far as bringing single-game betting to the marketplace.
Ontario decided to open up the online market to encourage competition among multiple operators. Other Canadian provinces are relying on their existing lottery system to implement the change.
Other US Sportsbook Operators
Penn National Gaming just received permission to close on its deal to purchase theScore. The latter is a Canadian-based sports betting and gaming entity.
A few months back, BetMGM brought on Wayne Gretzky as a brand ambassador. This lends instant appeal to hockey betting in Canada. BetMGM has also partnered with The Hockey News to further invest in Canada’s most popular sport.
PointsBet recently made headlines in Canada by becoming a marketing partner with Curling Canada as another highly popular sport across the entire country.
The trend of US sportsbook operators expanding their presence in Canada is sure to continue with even more strategic partnerships in the works.
