Gambling Weekly News Summary in Canada – 2025/08/30
Ontario iGaming Revenue Climbs 24% in July Despite Fewer Active Accounts
iGaming Ontario has reported a revenue of $311 million in July 2025, up 28% from $242 million in July 2024.
The latest report from Ontario iGaming shows that cash wagers totaled $7.6 billion, up 24% from the $6.1 billion in July the year prior. Month-on-month, cash wagers experienced a 4% rise from $7.3 million in June.
Online sports betting suffered a 10% month-on-month loss, as cash wagers reached $688 million and accounted for only 9% of the market share.
In contrast, online casino revenue rose to $6.7 billion, up 5% from June. It currently accounts for 89% of the market. Player-to-player poker also saw a rise of 5% month-on-month. However, it only accounts for 2% of the market in Ontario.
This comes after a 27% rise in online activity, despite active player accounts falling below one million for the first time since October 2024.
VGW Pulls Out of Canada To Focus on US Market
Sweepstakes operator VGW has announced it will withdraw from the Canadian market and focus its resources on the US instead, as the majority of its players reside there.
This comes after multiple US states have introduced new legislation banning sweepstakes casinos, as critics argue that the dual-currency system evades gambling regulations. VGW
“This decision wasn’t taken lightly, and our focus is on ensuring players are fully informed about the changes and that this transition is as smooth as possible. Our Canadian business is relatively small, as the vast majority of our players reside in the larger US market, where we will concentrate our management focus, resources, and investment going forward,” said a spokesperson for VGW.
Canada residents can no longer purchase gold coins for VGW’s sites Chumba Casino and Global Poker. Full game play ends on September 25, and coins can be cashed out until October 23.
So far, VGW has either reduced game play or ceased operations in at least 11 US states, and other states, including California, are currently in the process of passing legislation banning sweepstakes casinos.
Ontario iGaming Names Joseph Hillier as President and CEO
Ontario’s online gaming regulator, iGaming Ontario, has announced its new President and Chief Executive Officer, Joseph Hillier. Hillier is the former Chief Strategy Officer for the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
Martha Otton, the Previous Executive Director of iGaming Ontario, announced her retirement after nearly four years of service in August 2024. Hillier will take over from David Smith, who has been serving as interim director since Otton’s delayed retirement in the Spring.
Hillier comes with over 10 years of service in the finance and legal sector and most recently served as Chief Strategy Officer and Corporate Secretary for the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, where he worked delivering strategy and incentives across the alcohol, cannabis, gaming, and horse racing sectors.
The Ontario iGaming Board of Directors has said that they “look forward to supporting Joseph as he leads iGaming Ontario to build on Ontario’s igaming market success and deliver on key priorities, including an anti-money laundering system for operators, and a centralized self-exclusion platform for Ontarians.”
Ziv (Steve) Chen
CEO at Major League Content
Ziv has been working in the iGaming industry for more than two decades, serving in senior roles in software developers like Playtech and Microgaming. He then followed his lifelong passion of writing and became a fulltime journalist, covering casinos, sports betting, legislation and other gambling topics and news with a specialty in North America.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ziv-steve-chen-94b01b5/
