New Data Shows How Ontario Gambling Habits Shifted
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A new study has been published that analyzed Canadians’ online gambling habits and provides concrete data on the market’s evolution. Significant growth has been recorded over the past year. It’s important to note that this data pertains strictly to Ontario and comes from a study commissioned by the province’s regulatory authorities. Therefore, it does not reflect the situation of the entire Canadian market. Let’s take a look at the results together!
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Online Gambling Habits Canada-Wide: Channelization Hits 91.1%
Channelization is the proportion of gambling activity that takes place on licensed and regulated platforms, as opposed to that which operates outside the legal framework. It is a relevant indicator for assessing how well the regulated market succeeds in attracting players and competing against offshore casinos.
We’ve seen an increase from 83.7% to 91.1%. It may not seem like much, but it’s a significant increase, especially for a market that’s been operating for several years now. We’re not just talking about a simple fluctuation, but rather a significant shift in player behavior.
We also need to consider how the study was conducted. We’re talking about a study that included many respondents in other words, a large sample, not just a simple survey answered by a few people. The share of respondents who reported gambling exclusively on unregulated sites dropped from 16.3% to 8.9% in just one year.
What we find even more interesting is that the Canadian market has already been operating for several years. Even though the greatest progress is generally expected in the early years, when players begin to migrate to licensed platforms, here we can see that this trend is continuing even now, when the market is in a mature stage.