Canada
PlayPennsylvania.com: Sportsbooks fall short of record-setting pace in November
Pennsylvania’s sportsbooks produced their second-best monthly handle ever and set a new revenue mark in November. But November’s results still missed the state’s record set in October, a surprising result considering neighboring New Jersey catapulted to an all-jurisdiction record in the same month, according to PlayPennsylvania analysts.
“So much has worked in favor of Pennsylvania’s online sportsbooks this fall, but a lack of NBA, NHL, and college basketball games, along with the struggles of Penn State, an Eagles bye week, and a Steelers game postponed to December, conspired to slow bettors in November,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst at PlayPennsylvania.com. “With record revenue and the second-best handle in state history, it was still a great month for the industry. And I suspect that Pennsylvania will be back to setting record handles again in December.”
Pennsylvania’s online and retail sportsbooks reached $491.9 million in November, according to official data released Thursday. November’s wagers were up 35.7% from $316.5 million in November 2019 but fell short of the $525.8 million record set in October.
Operator revenue before adjustments was particularly strong, reaching a record $48.5 million in November despite taking in less in wagers. That topped the former record of $47.8 million set in October and was up 235.8% from $17.5 million in November 2019. November revenue yielded $12.7 million in state taxes and another $747,005 in local share assessments.
Only New Jersey, which shattered the all-jurisdiction record with $931 million in November wagers, and Nevada have ever posted a more lucrative month. But the gap between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the nation’s largest market, widened in November after the Garden State accepted $931.6 million in wagers
“November’s results show that each state is different in what are unprecedented times, and the relatively high win rate by sportsbooks may have dissuaded some bettors,” said Valerie Cross, analyst at PlayPennsylvania.com. “Ultimately, though, record revenues are particularly important for the industry and for the state, which is relying on online gaming revenue more than ever.”
Online betting accounted for 91%, or $447.4 million, of the state’s handle in November, which is up from 89.8% in October. FanDuel Sportsbook/Valley Forge Casino remained the market leader with $176.7 million in online bets, down 2.3% from $181 million wagered in October. Those bets produced $15.1 million in taxable revenue, up from $14.7 million in October.
DraftKings/The Meadows was in its familiar second position in November, producing $109.9 million in bets, down from $121 million in October. That yielded $6.9 million in taxable revenue. The race for second tightened slightly with Penn National’s Barstool-branded app. In just its second full month since launching, Barstool/Hollywood Casino generated $55.7 million in bets, down from $61 million, which yielded $3.5 million in taxable revenue.
“The Barstool app has been successful in shaking up the market, becoming the first online operator to legitimately challenge the stranglehold that FanDuel and DraftKings have had on Pennsylvania’s market,” Gouker said. “What the Penn National/Barstool partnership has done has not only altered the Keystone State, but it has served notice in other jurisdictions that it is indeed a force to be reckoned with.”
The leaders were followed by:
- BetRivers/Rivers-Pittsburgh (28.1 million handle, up from $26.1 million; $975,843 revenue, down from $1.5 million)
- Fox Bet/Mount Airy ($28.1 million handle, down from $28.2 million; $1.6 million, up from $1.1 million)
- Parx Casino ($19.4 million handle, down from $21.7 million; $2.1 million revenue, even with October)
- PlaySugarHouse/Rivers-Philadelphia ($19.4 million handle, down from $21.4 million; $917,164 in revenue, down from $1.5 million)
- Unibet/Mohegan Sun Pocono ($8.2 million handle, down from $9.9 million; $194,793 revenue, up from $101,458)
- Caesars/Harrah’s ($1.1 million handle, even with October; $58,141 revenue, down from $66,241)
- BetAmerica/Presque Isle Downs ($957,165 handle, up from $912,236; $8,632 revenue, down from $15,076)
Retail sportsbooks, which have since been shut down, hit $44.5 million in bets in November, down from $53.5 million in October. Sportsbooks won $6.2 million on those bets, down from $6.3 million. The top retail sportsbook was Parx Casino with $9.2 million in bets.
Online casinos and poker
Online casinos and poker rooms continued their hot streak, narrowly hitting another high in November with $59.77 million in gross operator revenue, or $2 million per day, over the 30 days of November. That was up from the record $59.76 million, or $1.9 million per day, produced over the 31 days of October.
State and local governments were a big winner, too, receiving $16.2 million in state taxes from online casino and poker revenue and another $3.2 million in local share assessments from November’s revenue.
“Online casinos have become one of Pennsylvania’s most reliable revenue streams,” Cross said. “As winter takes hold and retail casinos closed, the best months for online casinos are almost assuredly yet to come.”
Highlights from November:
- Online table games and slots generated $57.4 million in revenue on $2.3 billion in bets, which is up from $2.2 billion in bets in October.
- Rivers-Philadelphia, which includes PlaySugarHouse and BetRivers casinos, topped the online casino market with $16.6 million in revenue, even with October, on $602.8 million in wagers, which was up from $590.5 million in wagers.
- Penn National, which includes the DraftKings casino, hit $15.7 million in revenue on a market-leading $675 million in wagers, up from $15.5 million in revenue and $664.6 million in wagers in October.
- Mount Airy/PokerStars, the lone poker operator in the state, generated poker revenue of $2.4 million, even with October.
About the PlayUSA.com Network:
The PlayUSA.com Network is a leading source for news, analysis, and research related to the market for regulated online gaming in the United States. With a presence in over a dozen states, PlayUSA.com and its state-focused branches produce daily original reporting, publish in-depth research, and offer player advocacy tools related to the advancement of safe, licensed, and legal online gaming options for consumers. Based in Las Vegas, the PlayUSA Network is independently owned and operated, with no affiliations to any casino — commercial, tribal, online, or otherwise.
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Canada
What Canadian Slot Players Are Really Comparing in 2026: Payout Speed, Interac and RTP Transparency
Canadian online slot players are becoming more practical.
The old conversion model was simple: show a big welcome bonus, list a few popular games, and hope the player clicked through. That still has a place, but it no longer reflects how better-informed casino players compare sites in 2026.
The conversation has shifted.
Players are now asking sharper questions before they deposit. How fast can I cash out? Does the casino support Interac? Are the best games actually available in Canada? What happens after I win? Are the slot terms clear? Can I see RTP information without digging through a help centre?
For operators, affiliates and suppliers watching the Canadian market, this change matters. The slot player is not just bonus-led anymore. The player is becoming banking-led, payout-led and value-led.
Payout speed has become a decision factor
Withdrawal speed is one of the biggest practical differences between online casinos.
Many casinos still market themselves around welcome packages, but the post-win experience is where trust is won or lost. Players notice pending periods. They notice extra verification steps. They notice whether withdrawals are processed quickly or whether the process feels deliberately slow.
That is why comparison behaviour around fastest payout casinos in Canada has become more commercially important. A casino can have a large slot library and a generous bonus, but if the payout process is slow, many experienced players will look elsewhere.
This is especially true for slot players. Slots create quick sessions, frequent bonus rounds and unpredictable payout moments. A player who wins on a Friday night does not want to discover that the casino only starts reviewing cashouts on Monday.
Fast payout positioning is not just a payment feature. It is a trust signal.
Interac remains central to the Canadian player journey
Interac is still one of the most important payment expectations in Canada.
For many players, it feels familiar, local and practical. It connects online casino banking with everyday Canadian banking behaviour. That matters because casino payments are a high-friction moment. Players may be comfortable browsing games, comparing bonuses and reading reviews, but depositing money is where hesitation appears.
Clear information about Interac casino payments helps reduce that hesitation.
The most useful casino pages now explain more than whether Interac is accepted. They answer questions such as:
- Is Interac available for deposits only, or withdrawals too?
- Are there minimum and maximum limits?
- Does account verification affect payout speed?
- Are e-Transfer withdrawals supported?
- Are there fees? Is Interac treated differently by province or operator?
This level of detail is valuable because Canadian players are not just asking “Can I pay?” They are asking “Can I deposit, play, withdraw and trust the process?”
That is a much more commercial question.
RTP transparency is becoming part of player value
RTP has always existed as a technical concept, but it is becoming more visible in player decision-making.
A casual player may not calculate long-term return percentages before every spin. But more players now understand that slot choice matters. They know that some games are more volatile, some bonuses are harder to clear, and some titles publish better long-term return figures than others.
This is why content around high-RTP slots is becoming more useful when it is presented properly.
The weak version of RTP content is an educational glossary: “RTP means return to player.” That is not enough anymore.
The stronger version connects RTP to actual player behaviour:
- Which high-RTP games are worth knowing?
- Which casinos offer strong slot libraries?
- How does volatility affect the player experience?
- Does the bonus structure make a high-RTP game less valuable?
- Are high-RTP slots available on mobile?
- Can Canadian players access the games easily?
RTP transparency does not mean players expect to beat the casino. It means they want clearer information before choosing where and what to play.
Mobile play is raising expectations
Canadian slot players are heavily mobile-led.
That changes the comparison process. A player may research on desktop, but the actual deposit and session often happen on a phone. If the casino lobby is slow, payment forms are clunky, or game filters do not work well on mobile, the player experience suffers.
Mobile also puts more pressure on clarity. Players do not want to scroll through huge blocks of bonus terms. They want fast answers:
- Best casino for quick withdrawals
- Best Interac option
- Best slot lobby
- Best high-RTP games
- Best mobile experience
For affiliates and operators, this means page structure matters. Tables, verdict boxes, payment summaries and direct recommendations often outperform long, generic content.
The market is moving away from generic casino comparisons
The Canadian slots market is not short of casino lists.
The issue is that many lists look the same. Same bonus-first ranking. Same generic claims. Same vague “safe and secure” language. Same lack of useful payout or banking detail.
The better opportunity is to compare casinos around real player decisions.
For Canadian slot players, that often means:
- How fast can I withdraw?
- Can I use Interac?
- What games are actually worth playing?
- Is the casino reliable after I win?
- Does the site work properly on mobile?
- Are the terms clear enough to trust?
These questions are more practical than promotional. They also create stronger commercial intent.
A player searching for payout speed, Interac support or slot value is usually further along the decision journey than someone casually browsing a bonus list.
What this means for the industry
The Canadian slot player in 2026 is not necessarily less bonus-driven. But the bonus is no longer the whole story.
The market is becoming more mature, and mature players compare the full experience. They want payment confidence, game quality, mobile usability, transparent terms and fewer surprises after depositing.
For operators, this means the product experience has to support the marketing promise.
For affiliates, it means generic casino pages are losing their edge. The stronger play is to build content around the actual comparison points players care about.
Payout speed, Interac and RTP transparency are not side details anymore.
They are becoming part of the main decision.
The post What Canadian Slot Players Are Really Comparing in 2026: Payout Speed, Interac and RTP Transparency appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Alberta
Octoplay secures conditional Alberta iGaming supplier approval from AGLC
Octoplay has secured conditional licence approval from the Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis Commission (AGLC), allowing the supplier to begin the process of offering its games catalogue to operators in Alberta.
The company said the approval positions it to launch in Canada’s newest regulated iGaming market when it opens in July. Octoplay is already live in Ontario with BetMGM and PokerStars, and has also entered the US through New Jersey and Michigan, according to the company.
“Alberta is one of the most strategic market openings on our 2026 roadmap. Entering it with the performance data we’ve built in Ontario, New Jersey, and Michigan gives us a strong foundation to be one of the first suppliers to partner with local tier-one operators as soon as the market opens,” says Ralitsa Georgieva, CEO at Octoplay.
“We’ve worked closely with the AGLC throughout the licensing process, and clearing the conditional stage reflects the strength of our compliance infrastructure,” says Martina Borg Stevens, Chief Legal Officer at Octoplay. “Our team has built a process that allows us to enter new regulated jurisdictions efficiently without compromising on the technical standards each regulator requires.”
Octoplay said Alberta adds to its regulated footprint, which it stated includes 17 operational markets: the United Kingdom, New Jersey, Michigan, Ontario, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Greece, Romania, Malta, Slovakia, Finland, Brazil, and Georgia.
The post Octoplay secures conditional Alberta iGaming supplier approval from AGLC appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Canada
Tonybet pays first $15,000 CAD prize in World Cup Card Collection Canada promo
Bronze card has been claimed during the group stage; silver and gold prizes remain available until 31 July.
Tonybet said it has paid out its first major prize in its World Cup Card Collection campaign for Canadian customers (excluding Ontario), after a player secured the promotion’s bronze card worth $15,000 CAD.
The operator said the World Cup Card Collection includes 51 cards to collect during the tournament: 48 digital cards tied to participating World Cup nations, plus three unique cards—gold, silver and bronze—linked to a $150,000 CAD total prize fund.
According to Tonybet, the bronze card has been available through the World Cup’s group stage and has now been claimed. The silver card is available during the knockout rounds up to the quarter-finals, while the gold card is held back for the closing semi-finals and final.
Tonybet Head of Product Kiryl Liudvikevich said: “With Canada co-hosting the World Cup for the first time, the tournament has felt closer to home than ever before for Canadians, and it has already delivered a moment most supporters could only dream about with the national team advancing to the knockout stages.
“For one lucky Canada supporter, it has now produced another story that will be worth retelling long after the final whistle has gone – with our lucky winner among the first Tonybet customers to win one of the unique cards in our World Cup Card Collection, taking home a cool $15,000 for managing to get his hands on bronze. Who will end up with silver and gold?”
Tonybet said the same three unique cards are also in circulation across its other markets, with varying outcomes so far. The World Cup Card Collection campaign runs until 31 July, with a $150,000 CAD prize pool for Canada and separate prize pools in other markets.
The post Tonybet pays first $15,000 CAD prize in World Cup Card Collection Canada promo appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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