Gaming News Canada

Long-time Friend of Gaming News Canada Phill Gray, the former trading lead at Sports Interaction, joined us for a lookahead on several levels into the business of sports betting and online gaming over the next 12 months. Gray tackled the issues expected to be of the most hot-button variety across the Canadian and American gambling industries in 2026, including: The continuing conflict between prediction markets and sportsbooks which aren’t incorporating PMs into their business, and thoughts on the launch of DraftKings’ prediction market product.What’s ahead for Ontario’s competitive legal gaming industry as it marches towards the fourth anniversary of its launch in April, and will it continue to see the growth it experienced in 2025. Gray pontificates about what should be top of mind for operators in the regulated market.As we enter the NFL postseason, a Winter Olympics next month, a FIFA World Cup being hosted by Canada, Mexico and the U.S. this summer, the excitement around the Toronto Blue Jays following their return to the World Series in 2025 and the growing popularity of women’s pro sports – including the inaugural season of the WNBA Toronto Tempo coming this spring – 2026 promises to be a big year for bettors and the books. Gray also discussed the changing responsibilities of sportsbook traders and the impact on artificial intelligence and data companies on them. Some advice for the powers-that-be responsible for creating Alberta’s open market, expected to launch sometime this year. The concerns surrounding prop betting by sports leagues/organizations and public health advocates. And, of course, we asked Gray for his new year’s predictions around the industry in Canada.

On the final episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming for 2025, GNC writer-in-chief Dave Briggs and Covers gaming industry senior correspondent Geoff Zochodne were our guests for a media roundtable on the year that’s been, and what lies ahead for 2026. The conversation included a record revenue monthfor Ontario’s legal operators in November with non-adjusted gross gaming revenue surpassing $400 million for the first time since the province’s open, regulated market opened its doors in April 2022. Zochodne and Briggs provided their thoughts on Ontario, the province’s Court of Appeal decision earlier this year around liquidity and what should be top of mind for iGaming Ontario boss Joseph Hillier and Co. going into 2026. Of course, there’s a segment devoted to Alberta and the provincial government’s plans to launch its expanded legal gaming marketplace next year. Our two media guests chimed in on the industry’s continued efforts around responsible gaming, Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s latest plan to turn Niagara Falls into the “Vegas of the North” and a discussion around changes to the Canadian horse racing industry – including Great Canadian Entertainment’s decision earlier this month to close historic Hastings Park. Finally, Briggs and Zochodne identified some storylines to follow over the next 12 months.

On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, Steve McAllister’s guest is the general counsel for Soft2Bet – owners of the Ontario-licensed ToonieBet brand – David Yatom-Hay. Yatom-Hay, who previously worked at DraftKings and GamingTech, provided some thoughts and layers on ToonieBet’s past 12 months, which included partnership deals with the Canadian Football League and the Ottawa Senators, the launch of its sportsbook app and competing with big, established brands in the North American gaming space (Soft2Bet is almost set to launch in New Jersey). On the heels of our interview with Dan Waugh of Regulus Partners on the previous podcast, we asked Yatom-Hay how the Ontario model compares with other jurisdictions (Sweden, Denmark and Mexico, to name a few) where Soft2Bet does business and the lessons learned in Ontario that could be applied to Alberta’s plans for an open gambling market.  Soft2Bet’s legal beagle provided a few details on the company’s recent call with iGaming Ontario president and CEO Joseph Hillier, and also discussed a recent op-ed by the company’s chief product officer, Yoel Zuckerberg.

The recent announcement by the ruling government in the United Kingdom of tax rates – including a hike to 40% for remote gaming - for the gambling industry was met with an avalanche of reaction not only in the UK but other parts of the world with regulated gaming environments.So, we asked Dan Waugh of Regulus Partners – whose coverage of the international gambling landscape is a must-read (to subscribe, drop an email to dan.waugh@reguluspartners.com) – for his thoughts on the brouhaha around the tax hike and its potential impact on regulated gambling and the companies servicing the industry within the UK and to other parts of the globe. We also asked the long-time follower of the gaming industry about jurisdictions that are getting it right with their regulatory frameworks, and to weigh in on the regulated vs. black market debate around the world.  Waugh also had some words of wisdom for the folks in charge of creating Alberta’s regulatory gaming regime, opening date still TBD.

On a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming, Steve McAllister spoke with the two founders of Golden Camel, Ryan Magrum and Artie Baxter.Magrum, a former professional poker player, was flipping houses in Austin, TX., four-plus years ago when his wife said her husband needed to find something in his professional career to be passionate about. That led to a phone call to Baxter and the beginning of creating a platform which Baxter calls “the Apple TV of sports betting”.Magrum and Baxter talked about their plans for creating something unique in the business of betting, what’s behind the branding of their business, wanting to “be the glue between the consumer and the platforms” and how Golden Camel can connect with young adults immersed in the betting space.

Since we started covering the business of sports betting and gaming almost five years ago, experts in the space have talked to us about exploiting the omnichannel opportunities. Among the operators which are delivering that combination of land-based and digital gaming is BetMGM. Hence, the maiden appearance of chief revenue officer Matt Prevost on a new episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming. Prevost talked about the reaction from customers to the launch earlier this year of Live from Vegas, a casino-floor studio inside the MGM Grand in Las Vegas that produces – with support from gaming industry supplier Playtech – live streaming interactive table games to its digital players.  Prevost also talked about the popularity of the company’s Family Feud and The Price is Right products, the result of BetMGM acquiring the rights to the iconic television shows at the beginning of 2025. The conversation also got into sports wagering, including an early look at the Super Bowl and NFL betting so far this season, and, of course, the Toronto Blue Jays’ run to an epic World Series and the impact that had on BetMGM bettors in Ontario’s regulated marketplace. We also asked the head revenue guy if BetMGM’s attitude towards prediction markets have changed since CEO Adam Greenblatt addressed them during an earnings call in October. 

When Martha Otton announced in the summer of 2024 that she was retiring as Executive Director of iGaming Ontario, there was thinking among different sectors of the province’s regulated igaming market that the organization’s Chief of Staff, Mitch Davidson, would be a great fit to move into the leadership role. Instead, Davidson decided in August to get back into the policy game, this time as Vice President, Policy for Canadian public affairs firm Enterprise Canada. The former Director of Policy for the Premier’s Office was our guest on the latest episode of the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming. Your humble host tried to cover with the new father the gamut of topics in the business of sports betting and online gaming, Canadian style, including: Davidson’s decision, after speaking with some gaming-related businesses, to join Enterprise;The work done at iGO under the leadership of Otton and him to launch Ontario’s open private-sector market in April 2022, and the success story that is the Ontario model;Why the implementation of a centralized self-exclusion program, identified as a priority by operators, has taken so long (new iGO president and CEO Joseph Hiller told us on the GNCS at the beginning of the month he expects the program to be launched in the first half of 2026);Other priorities for iGO moving forward;His reaction to last week’s decision by the Court of Appeal for Ontario to go along with reviving pay-to-play daily fantasy contests and expanding online poker games (Davidson writes about the court ruling and liquidity in his latest post on The Policy Shop);What happens with regulated gaming beyond Ontario, including Alberta. Davidson also explained the motivation for the creation of The Policy Shop on Substack, a weekly, well-reasoned deep dive into the issues that matter most to Canadians these days and – importantly - offering potential solutions.

Count the Canadian Gaming Association among the entities in the business of sports betting and other forms of gambling that are riding the industry’s fast-moving train these days. Hence, our rationale for bringing back on the Gaming News Canada Show, CGA president and CEO Paul Burns for a rapid-round episode of the podcast. Burns first addressed last week’s decisionby the Court of Appeal for Ontario with regards to expanding peer-to-peer play to international jurisdictions and the potential opportunities around the court’s ruling if there are no appeals filed over the next 20-something days.  Next up was a segment on Bill S-211 – aka the National Framework on Sports Betting Advertising Act – passing first reading in the House of Commons. That led to Burns walking your humble host through the CGA’s recently released Code for Responsible Gaming Advertising, put together in collaboration with the association’s membership and with Ad Standards – Canada and scheduled to be put into effect at the beginning of the new year. Burns also spoke about the CGA’s request for an exemption from the cash limits in Bill C-2, which awaits passage in the aforementioned House of Commons. The section of greatest concern to the association includes this clause: 136 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 77.‍4: Offence — cash payments, donations or deposits of $10,000 or more 77.‍5 (1) Every person or entity that is engaged in a business, a profession or the solicitation of charitable financial donations from the public commits an offence if the person or entity accepts a cash payment, donation or deposit of $10,000 or more in a single transaction or in a prescribed series of related transactions that total $10,000 or more.  The CGA’s head honcho also gave us a few thoughts about the recent sports betting/match-event fixing scandals in the NBA, UFC and Major League Baseball.

To borrow a line from The Roastmaster Jeff Ross, the only thing John Levy has ever sugarcoated has been his morning bowl of Corn Flakes (Ed’s note. . . our tongue was securely fastened in our cheek while tapping the keyboard). Levy was his usual candid self in his latest conversation with Steve McAllister on the Gaming News Canada Show presented by Bede Gaming. The original founder of Headline Sports – which spawned theScore, Hardcore Sports Radio and theScore Bet – had lots to say about the news last week of ESPN and Penn Entertainment ending their 10-year agreement, and the end of ESPN Bet. Levy, who sold Score Gaming and Media to Penn in the summer of 2021 and left the company in 2024 along with his sons Aubrey, Benjie and Noah, discussed the failures that led to the demise of ESPN Bet and the breakup of Penn and Barstool Sports in the summer of 2023 (we asked Levy if he had any interest in pulling a Dave Portnoy and reacquiring theScore – he answered). He also talked about Penn’s problems in the digital gaming business both in the U.S. and Canada and had some thoughts about the comments of Penn CEO Jay Snowden last week that the company may have interest in the retail casino business here in the Great White North. The conversation also included the relationship between sports betting operators and sports media companies. And, some two weeks after a riveting World Series, Levy trumpeted theScore’s 10-year partnership deal with the Blue Jays that was announced on the same day Ontario’s open gambling market opened in April 2022.