Canada
PlayIllinois.com: Sportsbooks post huge month, but March could be ‘last hurrah’ for major growth
Illinois sportsbooks set records for betting and revenue in March, easily reaching $600 million in monthly wagering for the first time and again surpassing Pennsylvania, a dramatic turn one year after the industry’s launch was spoiled by the pandemic-related shutdown of major U.S. sports. But as far as Illinois has come, the state’s newfound position as the nation’s No. 3 market could be short-lived as in-person registration requirements begin to take hold, said PlayIllinois, which analyzes and researches the state’s regulated online gaming and sports betting market.
“March Madness helped deliver a huge month for Illinois, but March is essentially a ‘last hurrah’ for the state’s rapid growth,” said Joe Boozell, analyst for PlayIllinois.com. “Illinois will still be one of the largest U.S. markets because of the population of the state, but it will be difficult to maintain its current status as the U.S. No. 3, much less catch Nevada. No matter how appealing a market, there isn’t any easy way to overcome the inconvenience of in-person registration.”
Spurred by March Madness, betting at Illinois’s retail and online sportsbooks surged to $633.6 million in March, according to official data released Monday. That is up 24.3% from $509.8 million in February and easily topped the previous record $581.6 million in January. Bettors placed $20.4 million per day in the 31 days of March, up from $18.2 million per day in February.
March’s high volume produced $49.9 million in operator revenue, up 64.6% from $30.3 million in February and narrowly topping the record $49.4 million in January. The month’s win created $44.3 million in taxable revenue, which yielded $6.6 million in state taxes and another $493,543 in local taxes.
Illinois surpassed Pennsylvania ($560.3 million) in monthly handle for the second straight month and gained ground on New Jersey ($859.6 million) and Nevada ($641 million). In doing so, the state surpassed $3 billion ($3.6 billion) in lifetime handle.
That stands in stark contrast to March 2020, when Illinois launched retail sportsbooks, taking in $997,739 in bets before a wave of sports cancellations essentially put a hold on sports betting in Illinois until July.
“The growth over the last year has been staggering, making Illinois the quickest to $3 billion in U.S. history,” said Jessica Welman, analyst for PlayIllinois. “The question now becomes what will happen when the brakes are hit on that growth? Does it alarm lawmakers enough to make a change? Or will Illinois be satisfied with where the sports betting market has been frozen in place?”
The NCAA Tournament was the main driver in March, generating an estimated $176.8 million in bets even as bettors were barred from wagering on Illinois and Loyola Chicago. The NBA also drew well, helping to push basketball betting to $365.7 million. The previous high for basketball in a month was $256.7 million.
Tennis also continues to do especially well in Illinois, hitting $47.2 million in wagering, the second-most wagered-on sport.
“Illinois has grown in some unique ways, but the state’s love of basketball has really carried the state over the last few months,” Boozell said. “If the ban on betting on in-state college teams didn’t exist, Illinois would have likely been the No. 2 market in the U.S. in March.”
Online wagering accounted for 96.1%, or $609 million, of all bets in March. Retail betting generated the remaining $24.6 million.
DraftKings/Casino Queen represented 32.2% of the state’s entire handle in March, generating $207.6 million in online and retail wagers, up from the operator’s $199.8 million handle in February. Nearly $203.9 million of March’s bets came online.
FanDuel/Fairmont attracted $195.2 million in bets — $194.9 million of which came online. BetRivers/Rivers Casino continued to lose pace with the market leaders, generating $95.7 million in online betting and $106.9 million overall, up from $86.9 million in February.
The leaders were followed by:
PointsBet/Hawthorne Race Course ($55 million in wagers, including $53.6 million online; $5.1 million in revenue)
Barstool/Hollywood Casinos ($48.9 million in wagers, including $47.8 million online; $1.1 million in revenue)
William Hill/Grand Victoria ($14.2 million in wagers, including $13.3 million online; -$270,456 in revenue)
Argosy ($4.1 million in wagers; $410,477 in revenue)
Hollywood Joliet ($1.2 million in wagers; $127,344 in revenue)
Par-A-Dice ($628,286 in wagers; -$163,180 in revenue)
“One of the biggest issues with the return of in-person registration is it puts newly launched operators at a permanent disadvantage,” Welman said. “In one way, Barstool was fortunate to launch when it did, helping them build a foundation. But growth will be difficult for all operators, and especially those that are farther away from the largest population centers.”
For more information and analysis on regulated sports betting in Illinois, visit PlayIllinois.com/news.
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 (including PlayIndiana.com, PlayIllinois.com, PlayNJ.com and PlayPennsylvania.com) 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 affiliation to any casino — commercial, tribal, online, or otherwise.
Powered by WPeMatico
BGaming
CasinoCanada launches free social slot tournament
CasinoCanada.com launches a new social tournament system built around free-to-enter slot competitions, combining daily, weekly, and monthly events with leaderboards, bonus prizes, and exclusive merchandise.
The tournaments are powered entirely by BGaming slots, marking the first industry collaboration between an affiliate brand and BGaming focused specifically on social tournament engagement.
Participation in all tournaments is free for registered users of legal gambling age.
Players compete across rotating tournaments featuring a changing lineup of BGaming titles, including hit titles Aztec Magic Bonanza, Bonanza Billion, and Elvis Frog, among others.
Prizes include various bonuses and free spins from CasinoCanada partner casinos.
Selected special tournaments also feature exclusive BGaming merchandise prizes.
Tournament performance is reflected in public leaderboards, adding a competitive and community-driven layer to the CasinoCanada experience.
While social slot tournaments have become increasingly common in iGaming, many existing formats are built around the same providers and similar tournament structures.
CasinoCanada’s approach focuses on free participation, rotating BGaming content, partner casino bonus rewards, merchandise prizes, and recurring competition.
Eugene Ravdin, Head of PR at CasinoCanada, said: “The affiliate industry is moving beyond static review pages and traditional bonus listings. Community features, recurring engagement formats, and social competition are becoming increasingly important for long-term audience retention.
“Our goal is to create something more interactive and community-driven while also giving more visibility to BGaming’s slot portfolio through a format that players can engage with on a daily basis.”
Kate Puteiko, CMO at BGaming, said: “Players and the community have always been the beating heart of everything we do here at BGaming.
Online play no longer has to be a solitary activity, and tournaments like this are an excellent way to connect players and enhance everyone’s experience.
CasinoCanada shares this vision, and this collaboration is a natural extension of that.
We are excited to see our games front and centre of these tournaments and for players to begin creating memorable moments competing with them.”
CasinoCanada plans to introduce additional community features in the future, including gamification systems and forum functionality designed to expand user interaction around the tournament ecosystem.
The tournaments are now live at: https://casinocanada.com/tournaments/
The post CasinoCanada launches free social slot tournament appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Betnova
Delasport Accelerates Canadian Growth
Delasport continues to strengthen its position in the Canadian regulated market, now powering three live brands in Ontario while preparing for further expansion into Alberta as the province moves toward opening its regulated online gaming market.
Delasport’s technology is currently live in Ontario with TitanPlay.ca, Maverick Games, and Betnova.ca. The company provides a combination of full turnkey platform solutions of Casino, Sport, Player Account Management and Managed Services as well as its high-performance Sportsbook iFrame technology. This enables operators to launch quickly while delivering a premium user experience tailored to the Canadian audience.
With Ontario continuing to establish itself as one of North America’s most competitive regulated markets, Delasport’s growing local presence reflects the company’s long-term commitment to Canada and its confidence in the market’s continued evolution.
“Ontario is a strategically important market for us, and it has already proven to be a strong success story. Seeing multiple brands successfully operating on our technology and services demonstrates the strength of our platform in acquiring and retaining players in Ontario. We’re excited to continue this momentum as we prepare for Alberta,” said Oren Cohen Shwartz, CEO of Delasport.
As part of its next phase of Canadian growth, Delasport has officially applied for Alberta’s upcoming B2B licensing framework and is already preparing to go live with a partner operator once the market opens.
The company’s Canadian momentum is further supported by its mobile-first approach. TitanPlay’s iOS application is already available on the Apple App Store for users in Ontario, delivering a seamless casino and sportsbook experience powered by Delasport technology.
Delasport’s platform in Canada includes a wide range of personalization and engagement tools designed to enhance user retention and entertainment value.
The company has continued to position itself as one of the industry’s leading providers in regulated markets worldwide, with a strong focus on scalable technology, localization, compliance, and player-centric innovation.
The post Delasport Accelerates Canadian Growth appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Canada
Responsible Gambling Council Urges Financial Institutions to Strengthen Protections Against Gambling Harm
The Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) has urged Canada’s financial sector to take a proactive role in mitigating gambling-related financial harm. A new whitepaper released highlights how banks and credit unions are uniquely positioned to protect the financial well-being of their customers.
The whitepaper, Opportunities for Impact: The Role of Financial Institutions in Mitigating Gambling-Related Harm, argues that financial institutions have a unique duty of care. Financial institutions have direct access to gambling transaction data that reveals early warning signs of financial vulnerability. These indicators include rapidly shrinking savings and an increased reliance on overdrafts or credit.
“The rapid expansion of regulated gambling in Canada requires an evolved response from our financial systems. By adopting tools already proven in other jurisdictions, Canadian banks can become leaders in protecting customer financial health,” said Tracy Parker, SVP, Accreditation, Advisory & Insights at RGC.
Jurisdictions like the UK and Australia have already recognized the powerful role financial institutions play. Banks such as Monzo and Starling in the UK were the first to offer voluntary gambling blocks to their customers. Similarly, the National Australia Bank provides dedicated support pages and links to financial counseling.
RGC recommends that Canadian financial institutions implement several key strategies:
• Improving the accuracy of Merchant Category Codes to better track gambling spend.
• Offering voluntary transaction blocks and self-defined monthly spend limits.
• Providing targeted messaging and support resources within digital banking platforms.
Beyond retail banking, RGC highlights the importance of commercial relationships. Financial institutions can influence industry practices by setting high harm prevention expectations for gambling operators. Integrating these considerations into due diligence processes helps mitigate reputational and regulatory risks.
The post Responsible Gambling Council Urges Financial Institutions to Strengthen Protections Against Gambling Harm appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
-
AGCO5 days agoAGCO Takes Enforcement Action Against Two Companies for Allowing Their Games on Unregulated Gaming Websites
-
Apple4 days agoIBJR hails App Store approval as a milestone in the fight against illegal betting in Brazil
-
AB Trav och Galopp5 days agoRichard Woodbridge Elected to ATG Board of Directors
-
Caleta Gaming6 days agoCaleta Gaming launches Cluster Cup high-volatility football-themed slot
-
game release5 days agoSpinomenal adds Desperado Drifter Hold & Hit 3×3 to slot portfolio
-
apuestas deportivas4 days ago¿Por qué Pix es central en la lucha contra el mercado ilegal de apuestas?
-
Brazil4 days agoEsportes da Sorte campaign celebrates fans’ resilience in support of Brazil
-
Black Label4 days agoPragmatic Play signs Latam Agreement with Black Label



