Harm Increases Five Years After Canada Legalized Single-Game Wagering

Canada’s 2021 move to legalize single-event sports betting opened the door to provincial online markets, but Ontario’s experience shows the other side of that growth: more accounts, more casino play, and more calls for help. For PSPs and operators, the useful read here is simple enough — when a market shifts from restricted to open, sports betting is often just the front door.

1. In 2021, federal lawmakers legalized single-game betting, letting provinces offer bets on individual sporting events instead of forcing customers into parlays. The reform also allowed betting on individual events during games, including player performances.
2. Ontario then went further in 2022 by allowing private companies into its online market. Alberta became the latest province to launch its system for a private online gambling market in July 2026.
3. The Ontario case is the clearest example of what commercial expansion can do in practice: although the federal reform was about sports wagering, online casino games became a major driver of industry growth. Matthew Young, chief research officer at gambling research group Greo, said there is a massive financial incentive for gambling companies to push customers toward casino products once they sign up to an online platform, as reported by The Globe and Mail. Casino games can generate much larger profits for operators than sports betting.
4. Since private operators arrived, gambling revenue per adult in Ontario has skyrocketed. There are now about three times as many active online gambling accounts in Ontario as when the private market opened. Other parts of Canada have also seen increases, though not at the same scale in every province.
5. The expansion has come with more harm signals. Statistics Canada data shows the share of Canadians who said they bet on sports in the past year has declined slightly since 2018, but those who do bet are betting more often: the percentage of sports bettors who bet at least once a month rose from just under one quarter to over 40%. Between 2018 and 2025, Statistics Canada also observed increases in gambling-related issues such as chasing losses and borrowing money to keep gambling. Ontario’s ConnexOntario problem gambling helpline saw average monthly calls rise to more than three times the previous level after the private market opened, and those call volumes have stayed elevated.

One more thing the Ontario story puts on the table: Canada’s gambling advertising rules are still fragmented, and Ontario gambling ads are appearing in other provinces. For operators and payment providers, that is not just a marketing issue. It is the kind of cross-border regulatory mess that tends to travel straight into risk reviews, especially when a market is growing faster than its rulebook.