Ontario’s regulated online gambling market opened 2026 with another record month, posting more than 20% year-over-year growth in wagering activity and reaching a new high for total monthly handle.
The latest figures from iGaming Ontario (iGO) show that players wagered $9.52bn on licensed platforms in January 2026. That total represents a 21.4% increase compared to January 2025 and marks the highest monthly handle ever recorded in the province’s open commercial iGaming market.
From that volume, the province’s 48 active licensed operators generated $401.5m in non-adjusted gross gaming revenue (NAGGR). Revenue was up 22.2% year over year, although it fell 6% short of December 2025’s record monthly figure of more than $425m.
Online Casino Drives Market Growth
Ontario’s regulated frameworkhttps://www.worldcasinodirectory.com/ontario is approaching its fourth anniversary, having launched in early April 2022. Over that period, online casino activity has consistently accounted for the majority of both wagering volume and operator earnings.
That trend remained firmly in place in January. Of the $9.52bn total handle, $8.18bn — or 86% — came from iCasino wagering. Sports betting accounted for $1.18bn in bets, while peer-to-peer poker generated $156m in handle.
Online casino wagering increased 25.6% compared to January 2025. By contrast, sports betting handle slipped slightly year over year, declining by around 0.25%.
Revenue growth in the casino segment outpaced handle expansion once again. Operators reported $308.9m in iCasino NAGGR for the month, representing a 33.7% rise from January 2025. Casino gaming accounted for 77% of total iGO market revenue in January.
Sports Betting Revenue Declines
Sportsbooks experienced a different trajectory. Operators generated $86.7m in sports betting revenue in January, down 5.8% from the same month last year.
January 2025 had delivered an unusually strong performance for sportsbooks, with revenue reaching $92m — a figure that was not surpassed until November. In January 2026, sports betting represented approximately 22% of all regulated online gambling spending in Ontario.
The number of active player accounts also continued to rise. More than 1.32 million active accounts were recorded during the month, up 19.9% year over year. Average revenue per active account increased modestly, rising 2% to $303. That figure, however, was down 9% from December’s record $333 per account.
Strong Follow-Through After 2025 Record Year
January’s performance builds on a robust 2025 for Ontario’s regulated operators. Across the full year, licensed platforms processed more than $98bn in wagers and generated over $4bn in NAGGR.
Under Ontario’s 20% revenue share model, the province collected more than $800m in tax revenue from regulated iGaming in 2025. January 2026 added roughly another $80m to provincial coffers.
Handle has now exceeded $9bn in each of the past four months, and revenue has topped $400m in three consecutive months. iGO’s reporting includes 48 licensed and operational commercial operators running more than 80 approved real-money gambling websites. The figures do not include activity on the government-run Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) online platform. As of Feb. 25, 2026, OLG had not yet released its full annual breakdown for its 2024–25 reporting year, which ended March 31, 2025.
Additional entrants are preparing to join the market. DAZN received a license from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) in January to launch DAZN Bet in Ontario in 2026. At the same time, several operators active in Ontario are preparing for Alberta’s anticipated commercial iGaming launch, currently targeted for June or July, either as new entrants or transitioning from grey-market operations.
Source:
iGaming Ontario’s Market Performance Report, January 2026, igamingontario.ca, 2026.
