How Much Is Sports Betting In Canada Worth? New Report Says $25 Billion

Single game wagering went live in Canada last week and creates a new market opportunity for online sports betting companies. A new study out from PlayCanada analyzes the size of the Canadian sports betting market.

What Happened: A whitepaper from PlayCanada lists the market size at $2 billion a year in operator revenue and $25 billion in wagers annually.

“The Canadian legal sports betting market could eventually generate $25 billion in retail and online wagering annually in a best-case scenario that would include legalization of single-game wagering in every province and territory,” the report says.

Similar to the U.S., the Canadian market is decentralized, leaving each province and territory to adopt legal sports betting and create their own rules and regulations.

Related Link: Canada Passes Sports Betting Legislation: 3 Stocks That Could Benefit 

Why It’s Important: The Canadian market could provide a huge boost to online sports operators who have had success as more states in the U.S. legalize operations.

Canada has a population of over 35 million people, ranking as one of the top 40 most populous countries. If 100% of Canada was opened up to online sports betting, it would represent a market with more people than Texas and trailing only California in the United States.

Canada’s two most populous provinces could offer a significant opportunity if they are fully legalized and allow online sports betting operators access.

Over 60% of Canada’s population is found in Ontario and Quebec. With populations of around 13.4 million and 8.1 million, the two Canadian provinces would rank fifth and thirteenth in the U.S. by population respectively.

PlayCanada sees an $11.1 billion wagering market size for Ontario and $800 million in operator revenue annually, which could make the province one of the largest markets in North America.

Penn National Gaming PENN recently announced the acquisition of Score Media and Gaming SCR, a top sports media brand and gaming operator in Canada.