Ontario sports betting guide for 2023

With Ontario online casinos and sportsbooks having been legalized as of April 4, 2022, these are exciting times in the world of digital sports betting for Ontarians. New Ontario sportsbooks are popping up at a rapid rate, including the likes of LeoVegas, Unibet and bet365, all of which are now licensed.

Here's everything you need to know about the recent changes to Ontario sports gambling laws, including single-game betting in Ontario and the future of online sports wagering.

On August 27, 2021, Bill C-218 passed in Canada, allowing sports bettors in the region to place bets on single-event betting markets. This also led to the creation of iGaming Ontario (iGO), a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). Under a year later, on April 4, 2022, we saw the launch of Ontario's competitive iGaming market, marking the beginning of legalized online sports betting.

What does this mean for you as a player in Ontario? The main goal of the gambling laws is to bring a safe online gambling experience and to promote responsible gambling. So, you can now safely place your bets online at licensed private gambling operators in Ontario using Canadian Dollars.

Before Bill C-218 was passed and with it the legalization of single-game betting in Canada, Ontarians were only allowed to place parlay bets through approved online sportsbooks.

Parlay betting refers to the combination of multiple single-game bets. For example, a three-leg parlay would need all three single bets to hit for you to win the wager.

It's much more difficult to hit on a parlay bet than it is on a single-game bet. As such, players in Ontario now stand a much better chance of winning

Now you're clued up on Ontario online betting, you're probably wondering, 'how and where can I bet on sports in Ontario?' Here's an example of how to bet on NHL hockey in Ontario:

1. Sign up to any of our recommended Ontario betting sites.
2. Click on 'Hockey' from the list of available betting markets.
3. Click on 'NHL' to pull up various available betting markets from that league.
4. Pick your preferred type of wager. For example, betting on the Toronto Maple Leafs to win outright against the Montreal Canadiens.
5. Input the amount you'd like to bet.
6. Double check your bet slip to make sure everything looks okay before pressing 'Confirm'.

The best part about sports betting is the sheer volume of available betting markets spanning a wide variety of sports and leagues. Some of the favourites in Ontario are:

Both hardcore and casual fans enjoy betting on all the major North American sports leagues. After all, that's where the star players reside. Here's a list of some of the most popular leagues, plus key sporting events, to bet on in Ontario:

Horse race betting is legal in Ontario. There are 15 racetracks currently located throughout the province where you can wager legally, but online betting is still not available.

While the question of whether online horse-race betting will be legalized remains unanswered, we feel confident that it will soon follow suit with other markets.

Many services in life are made easier by a mobile app, and sports betting is no exception. Most online sportsbooks have their own app that's available for Android and iPhone via the App Store.

In terms of the best Ontario sports betting app, the government-run Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation's (OLG) Proline app is one of the most only popular currently, although it's facing a lot of competition from other online sportsbook apps that are now available to Ontarians.

Since 2010, the OLG, which runs the PlayOlg.ca site, has been responsible for gambling in the province. The corporation took full advantage of Bill C-218, having launched its brand-new online sportsbook, Proline+, offering single-game sports betting, the same day as the legislation came into force.

Through Proline+, Ontario players can place a legal bet on a single event from their mobile, tablet or desktop device. Of course, following April 4, Ontario players now have access to many more legal online casino and sportsbook options alongside the OLG site.

Sports betting laws in Canada vary from province to province. Take Saskatchewan, for instance, which also allows single-game betting. The only difference is that it's 'retail only', meaning wagers cannot legally be placed online. They must be placed at a physical sports betting kiosk.

While Bill C-218 applies to the whole country, Ontario is the first province to fully take advantage of it.

Visit our 'sports betting in Canada' page to find out more about sports betting in the country as a whole.