Since 2022, when it opened a regulated local online casino market, Ontario's provincial government has added an extra $2 billion USD in tax revenue to its coffers. Money that was before flowing out of Canada to offshore casino operators. And the market is still growing strong.
In 2025, online gambling revenue from Ontario's licensed operators grew some 34% year over year to approximately $2.87 billion USD. In just four years, Ontario's regulated gambling operators have brought 87% of gambling activity over from the offshore market. With this record growth, other provinces - such as Alberta - are looking on and wondering why they aren't getting a slice of the pie.
On the other hand, not everyone is happy with expanded gambling. Regulators in Ontario are increasingly tightening rules on advertising and responsible gambling options, and Canadians surveyed on the topic regularly say they see too much gambling advertising.
Ontario's Driving Growth Despite Increased Restrictions
In 2025, Ontario's online casinos made record revenues of nearly $2.9 billion. $72 billion was wagered, which was up 32% year-on-year. Since 2022 operators have paid $2 billion revenue sharing taxes and made $10 billion in revenues. Yet while massive growth continued for another year, public discussion continues about responsible gambling - and regulators added more rules and restrictions for operators.
For example, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has put new restrictions in place as recently as July 1. The regulator has announced that customers at Ontario licensed online casinos under the age of 25 will now be required to set deposit limits upon signing up. These can be daily, weekly or monthly limits, and cap the users total deposits over that period.
The regulator has also been mulling more restrictions on advertising. Ontario already has more restrictions than many US states. For example, the province doesn't allow casino or sportsbook bonuses advertising in physical media like magazines or billboards. It also bans former or current sports stars from being in gambling adverts. However, surveys of Canadians still consistently show they feel they see too much gambling advertising. This has been one problem that has apparently so far put off officials in Quebec from following Ontario's lead and launching a regulated, taxable market.
Alberta's Open Market to Launch Soon
Given Ontario's successes, it's no surprise other provinces have followed suit. Alberta is about to join Ontario as the second open and locally regulated gambling market in the country. It will open its online casino and sports betting market to locally licensed operators on July 13.
The iGaming Alberta Act outlines the strict rules operators will have to follow to get legal access to this potentially lucrative market that analysts estimate could be worth $700 million a year from 2027.
It has followed a similar model to Ontario, with revenue sharing, an open number of licenses that allow operators to have multiple skins and a dual regulator model between the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission and the newly-established iGaming Alberta.
Fragmented National Model Means Offshore Casinos Still Exist
However, the Canadian laws around gambling nationally are still fragmented and players are mostly served by offshore casinos.
Currently, players frequently turn to third-party review platforms like Casino.org Canada for the key information. These sites help players sift through the huge number of operators available to them, assessing factors like licensing, game selections, responsible gambling tools and welcome bonus offers.
If and when regulation changes, these reviewers update their pages for customers looking to understand new markets - but from their position, and those of customers, a clear and nationally regulated picture would be a lot easier. But that's unlikely to happen any time soon.
Nevertheless, interest in gambling continues to grow. Both at international operators in offshore markets and at regulated provincial markets like Ontario and soon to be Alberta. But only the latter model provides tax revenue to the provincial government - which is a huge incentive for other provinces to follow their lead.
Where to go Next for Market Growth
Canada's online casino market already ranks among the largest globally. It's hard to see the other provinces, especially with potentially large markets like Quebec, ignoring the billions of tax dollars Ontario is making for much longer.
However, it is very much possible the provinces could start regulating gambling from a much more restrictive position than Ontario. Quebec specifically has never been afraid to do things its own way, representing the French spirit that separates it culturally from the rest of Canada, and so any market launch could be on a different model from Ontario and Alberta.
On the other hand, provinces have tried to do things their own way for years - and players for the most part preferred privately run offshore gambling to the provincially-funded and locally run options. While Ontario now makes hundreds of millions of dollars a year for its provincial coffers from its revenue sharing agreements with the open market.
As the sector grows and becomes more important to regional economies, operators and regulators must balance economic security, freedom of choice and social responsibility - and those discussions will outline where the market goes next.
