Ontario iGaming market kicks off 2026 with record monthly player spending

Ontario's regulated online gambling market has been cashing in record after record, especially in the latter half of last year, and this trend seems to have welcomed 2026 on the same high note.

According to the figures published by iGaming Ontario, licensed online gambling operators in the province handled over CA$9.52 billion in total cash wagers in January, a little shy of two percent higher than the record-setting CA$9.501 billion in player spending for December 2025. Even so, it is quite a big uptick from the CA$7.85 billion the operators saw in January 2025.

The iGaming revenues, however, hovered around $401.5 million, a sizable six percent dip when put side by side with the CA$425.4 million the market raked in during December 2025.

Data from the Canadian province's iGaming regulator showed online casino games are still up there among the most popular forms of online gambling by a huge factor. Players spent over CA$8.18 billion in combined cash wagers, which made up 86% of the whole iGaming market.

Online sports betting wagers accounted for 12% of overall iGaming player spending and totaled CA$1.180 billion, an eight percent increase from December 2025. Making up just 2% market share, online poker drew $156 million in total cash wagers and saw one of the biggest jumps of 11% month-on-month from December 2025.

Ontario opened the year with nearly 1.326 million active player accounts, and that averages out to around CA$300 for every account. The record spending comes off the back of the bumper CA$98.3 billion in cash wagers reported for the entire 2025.

Ontario iGaming is about to turn four

April 2022 feels like not too long ago, and yet the Ontario iGaming market has come a very long way since its first month, when operators handled CA$1.079 billion in wagers. Fast forward, and those numbers look almost pale. The market is now closing in on its fourth anniversary, and the timing could not be better given the record-breaking start to 2026.

Within its first year of going live, Ontario's regulated market was already being counted among the top five iGaming jurisdictions in all of North America. That early momentum never really slowed down, and the January 2026 figures are the latest proof of that.

Ontario iGaming Revenue Clears CA$400 Million Again

January's revenue figure of CA$401.5 million may look like a step back from December's all-time high of CA$425.4 million, but it is still a number worth writing home about. Clearing the CA$400 million dash for the second straight month is no small feat for a market that only crossed that threshold for the first time in November 2025.

Breaking it down by product, online casino games generated CA$308.9 million in non-adjusted gross gaming revenue, a four percent dip from December, but still accounting for 77% of the total market revenue. Sports betting brought in CA$86.7 million, down 12% month-on-month but holding a 22% share of total revenue. Peer-to-peer poker rounded things out with CA$5.9 million in revenue, up two percent from December, for a one percent market share.

Ontario iGaming posted nearly CA$100 billion in wagers in 2025

The January numbers are impressive on their own, but they are even more striking when you put them in context of what 2025 looked like as a whole. iGaming Ontario reported that the market saw a little shy of CA$100 billion in cash wagers across the full year, a 26% jump over 2024. Combined non-adjusted gross gaming revenue for the year came in at just over CA$4 billion, a 34% year-on-year increase.

Since going live in April 2022, the combined revenue across operators is now upwards of CA$10 billion, at CA$10.2 billion. Ontario's 20% tax on iGaming revenue means the province has pulled in an estimated CA$2 billion in cumulative tax revenue over that period.

Online casinos are still running the show

It has been the case since day one, and January 2026 was no different. Online casino games continue to make up the lion's share of activity in Ontario's iGaming market. The CA$8.18 billion in casino wagers for January represented 86% of all player spending, even after a slight one percent dip from December's record of CA$8.27 billion.

Casino revenue held its ground too, generating CA$308.9 million or 77% of total market revenue for the month. Throughout 2025, the online casino share of total wagers never dipped below 83% and peaked at 89% during the summer months. It is a lopsided market in that sense, but that has never really changed since the province opened its doors to regulated online gambling.

Sports betting holds steady at 12% market share

For the start of 2026, the sportsbooks generated CA$1.18 billion in wagers, good for a 12% market share. Revenue came to CA$86.7 million, down from December's second-best at CA$99.1 million, but those were boosted heavily by NFL activity. In 2025, Ontarians wagered CA$12+ billion on sports.

Wrapping up: the iGaming market now sports 48 operators

With over CA$9.52 billion in monthly spending, Ontario is now among the largest iGaming markets in North America, bigger than Illinois and Indiana in cash wagers. The number of active player accounts ticked up by a little over 4 percent compared to December, showing that the 48-strong operators did a bang-up job marketing to new customers.

Unlike in regulated US markets, Ontario iGaming operators are not permitted to partner with or feature athletes in their ads. They can still offer deposit matches, no deposit bonuses, and other sign-up offers to attract new customers, and their efforts have paid off. The spending per player account now sits at CA$303.