Ontario’s regulated iGaming market posted strong gains in July 2025, with year-over-year growth of 24% despite a drop in active player accounts. iGaming Ontario’s (iGO) latest report shows the province’s online casino sector continuing to outperform other verticals, maintaining its position as the primary driver of the market.
Market Performance and Player Activity
Total wagers in July reached $7.563 billion, up from $6.1 billion during the same month in 2024 and 4% higher than June 2025. Licensed commercial operators collectively generated $311.0 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR), representing a 28.3% increase compared to July 2024.
Active player accounts (APAs) fell to 948,000, marking a 6% decrease from June and slipping below the one million mark for the first time since October 2024. However, revenue per account reached an average of $328, an 8% rise from June and the highest figure since August 2024. This indicates that while fewer accounts were active, those players spent more, boosting operator returns.
Casino Sector Leads the Charge
Online casino gaming accounted for a record 89% of the total handle in July. Casino wagers totaled $6.737 billion, reflecting a 27.3% year-over-year increase. The segment’s GGR reached $252.3 million, up 37.4% from the previous year and representing 81% of overall revenue.
This strong performance underscores the continued dominance of iCasino activity in Ontario’s regulated space. The figures do not yet include contributions from Golden Nugget Online Casino, a top-performing brand in North America that officially entered the Ontario market in mid-August, suggesting further growth potential in the months ahead.
Sports Betting and Poker Trends
Sports betting showed a notable decline during what is typically a slower season. The handle for July came in at $688 million, down 10% from June and the lowest monthly total since August 2024. Sports wagering represented only 9% of the total iGaming handle — the first time the segment has dropped into single digits since regulated iGaming launched in April 2022.
Operators reported $52.7 million in sports betting revenue, a 1.3% year-over-year decrease and the fourth instance in seven months of lower annual revenue in this vertical.
Peer-to-peer poker maintained its limited share, accounting for just 2% of both handle and GGR at $139 million in wagers and $5.9 million in revenue. The vertical continues to be constrained by liquidity limits that restrict Ontario players to competing only against others within the province.
Structural Changes at iGO
The report also comes during a transitional period for iGO. Following the enactment of the iGaming Ontario Act 2024, iGO now operates as a standalone conduct-and-manage agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, ending its prior subsidiary relationship with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). The structural change took effect on May 12, 2025, after being highlighted as a necessary step to address potential conflicts of interest raised by Ontario’s Auditor General.
Leadership changes have also shaped the agency this summer. Longtime Executive Director Martha Otton has retired, and Chief of Staff Mitchell Davidson departed in July. Director Catherine Jarmian has also exited. The agency is currently led by Chair Heidi Reinhart and interim President and CEO David Smith while the search for a permanent replacement continues. Reinhart confirmed during the Canadian Gaming Summit in June that an announcement regarding the new CEO is expected soon, though iGO declined to provide an update this week.
