TORONTO — A new study indicates most Ontarians who recently gambled online did so through regulated sites, though the unregulated market is still sizable.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario commissioned the study to mark the first two years of operation of Ontario’s regulated internet gaming market.

The Ipsos study found that 86.4 per cent of survey respondents in the province who gambled online in the past three months used regulated sites, up slightly from last year, though 20.1 per cent of them used a combination of regulated and unregulated sites.

The AGCO says participants in the study named more than 350 unregulated sites they used, highlighting how many illicit betting options exist and the importance of continued efforts to shift people toward regulated operators.

The province established iGaming Ontario in April 2022 and according to the agency’s third-quarter report, its most recent fiscal update, it was regulating 49 operators that run 72 gaming websites.

Ontario’s recent budget projected that the province will see revenues of $162 million from iGaming Ontario in the fiscal year that just ended, rising to $174 million by the end of this year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2024.

The Canadian Press