Neo.bet Makes Legal Ontario Debut

Ontario is celebrating one year of the launch of its iGaming market for third-party operators, but in the meantime, more brands make their way into the sector. Lastly, Neo.bet announced that it has been licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario to conduct legal online casino and sports betting offerings in Canada’s most populous province.

Canada witnessed the opening of Ontario’s private market on April 4, 2022, which was the first of its kind for the country. It is operated by AGCO and its subsidiary iGaming Ontario, and aimed to end the offshore market in the jurisdictions and stop local bettors from pouring millions into unregulated websites, while also keeping some of the revenue for the province’s economy.

Another Operator Licensed to Join

Neo.bet announced its entry into Ontario’s sector last Tuesday, which was just over a month after the brand was licensed by AGCO. Now, as a licensed operator, the German-based brand offers locals both sports wagering and eSports markets to choose from. The company is licensed domestically in Germany and Malta, while its Neo.bet portal is owned by Reactive Betting Ltd.

Now, provincial bettors have access to Neo.bet via the desktop version or by downloading its mobile app for both iOS and Android phones. The sportsbook is popular for its low-margin offers and its credo “betting service made by professionals for professionals.” It comes with a plethora of football/soccer leagues to wager on as well as the leading sports in North America.

It was estimated that currently, the operator provides bettors with odds on more than 25 sports and over 9,000 live events every month. In addition to that, the operator also offers live video streams of eSports to further enrich its live-wagering content. Its users can place bets on leading video game tournaments on League of Legends, CS: GO, Overwatch, and DotA 2, and others.

Marking the First Anniversary

As stated, Ontario’s market kicked off operations on April 4, 2022, leading to its first anniversary earlier this month. According to the AGCO, currently over 40 private operators are up and running in the province overseeing over 80 different websites for playing. The market is the first of its kind for the country and the industry is hopeful that other provinces will follow its lead.

Meanwhile, Ontario regulators reported that for the 12 months of online gambling and sports wagering, local players placed over CA$35.6 billion in bets. This led to around CA$1.4 billion in revenue, thus putting the sector in the top five iGaming jurisdictions in North America. Also, active players spend around CA$70 every month on one of the legal options.

Furthermore, DraftKings, which is one of the licensed operators, disclosed that for the first year, baseball was the most bet-on sport in the province and not the widely popular hockey. Toronto Blue Jays was the most wagered-on team by local online bettors while Aaron Judge from the New York Yankees was the player that collected the most wagers in the first 12 months.

Source: Warren, Greg “NEO.bet Launches Sports Betting, Esports Markets In Ontario” Canada Sports Betting, April 5, 2023