Canada
ILLINOIS SPORTSBOOKS HIT $400 MILLION IN WAGERING IN AUGUST Sports betting volume rises in August, foreshadowing what will be a busy fall, according to PlayIllinois
Illinois sportsbooks began to emerge from a summer slowdown in August with an 8.5% gain in betting volume from July, the first month-over-month gain in wagering since March. The boost to more than $400 million in wagering was welcome ahead of a critical time of year for the industry, according to PlayIllinois, which tracks the state’s regulated online gaming and sports betting market.
“Interest in baseball, particularly the White Sox, coupled with the return of football in August, set the stage for what will certainly be the busiest four-month stretch ever for Illinois’ legal sports betting industry,” said Eric Ramsey, an analyst for the PlayUSA.com Network, which includes PlayIllinois.com. “After summer, any gain is welcome. But the gains in August should pale in comparison to what we see with a full football schedule.”
Illinois’ retail and online sportsbooks accepted $400.4 million in bets in August, up 185.8% from $140.1 million in August 2020 and up 8.5% from $369.1 million in July, according to official data released Tuesday. The per-day betting volume grew to $12.9 million over the 31 days of August, up from $4.5 million per day in August 2020 and $11.9 million per day in July.
Gross gaming revenue fell 12.3% to $32.7 million in August from $37.3 million in July, which produced $26.8 million in adjusted gross revenue. August’s profit yielded $4.3 million in state and local taxes.
Baseball garnered the most interest in August, drawing $139.6 million in wagers, up from $124.0 million of action in July. Tennis ($43.4 million) and soccer ($30.8 million) drew significant interest, too. With just a handful of college and NFL preseason games, in addition to futures betting, football attracted $17.2 million in wagering.
August’s volume helped push the industry to $4.0 million in wagers and $326.3 million in gross gaming revenue for the year. And with football projected to draw more than $20 billion in wagering across the country, the state could reach $6 billion in wagering and $500 million in gross revenue by year’s end.
“There is little question that the final four months of the year will bring an onslaught of fresh records,” said Joe Boozell, lead analyst for PlayIllinois.com. “The biggest unknown is how much will in-person registration and the ban on wagering on in-state college teams drag on betting volume. We know it will be a strong finish to the year for sportsbooks, but it won’t be as good for the industry as it could have been.”
August’s wagering included $380.2 million in online bets, accounting for 95.0% of the state’s handle. DraftKings/Casino Queen topped Illinois again with $149.2 million in combined online and retail handle, up from $122.7 million in July. The operator took in a market-best $146.6 million in online wagers, too. In all, DraftKings generated a market-leading $11.3 million in gross gaming revenue, a notable gain from $9.5 million in July after the operator began offering profitable same-game parlays.
FanDuel was second with $111.5 million in online and retail wagers, down from $118.5 million in bets in July. $110.9 million of August’s wagering came online. The result was $10.5 million in gross gaming revenue.
The leaders were followed by:
- BetRivers/Rivers Casino ($73.5 million in wagers, including $64.8 million online; $6.1 million in revenue)
- PointsBet/Hawthorne Race Course ($28.9 million in wagers, including $27.3 million online; $2.5 million in revenue)
- Barstool/Hollywood Aurora ($26.4 million in wagers, including $25.5 million online; $2.1 million in revenue)
- Caesars by William Hill/Grand Victoria ($6.5 million in wagers, including $5.2 million online; -$157,256 in revenue)
- Argosy ($3.3 million in retail wagers; $242,700 in revenue)
- Hollywood Joliet ($771,613 in retail wagers; $74,856 in revenue)
- Par-A-Dice ($266,658 in wagers; $5,043 in revenue)
“The return of football brings in high betting volume, which is a motivator for every operator,” Boozell said. “But the value of football season for sportsbooks isn’t just in short-term profitability. Strong engagement offers sportsbooks an opportunity to grow their customer base by using aggressive promotions and other marketing strategies. And that can pay off even after the football season ends.”
For more revenue information, visit PlayIllinois.com/revenue.
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AGCO
TitanPlay Highlights Responsible Gambling Approach in Platform Design
TitanPlay, a regulated iGaming operator in Ontario’s licensed market, announced its commitment to treating responsible gambling not as a compliance checkbox, but as a foundational principle embedded across all aspects of product design, marketing, and operations.
While Ontario’s regulatory framework — established by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and iGaming Ontario (iGO) — sets clear minimum standards for licensed operators, TitanPlay says it views those standards as a starting point for its broader responsible gambling framework.
“For us, responsible gambling is not an afterthought, but the foundation on which TitanPlay is built,” said the Chief Compliance Officer of TitanPlay.
Designing for Player Well-Being from Day One
TitanPlay evaluates every product feature through a player-protection lens at the development stage. The platform offers clear, accessible limit-setting tools for deposits, losses, and time — available at registration and adjustable within prescribed cooling-off periods. Players also benefit from prominent real-time displays of account activity, friction-based interventions such as time reminders and proactive check-ins when play patterns shift, and seamless access to self-exclusion options.
Data-Driven Safeguards
Rather than using behavioral analytics to maximize short-term spending, TitanPlay deploys data to identify potential indicators of risk. When patterns suggest a player may be experiencing harm, trained Responsible Gambling specialists engage proactively in a personalized and supportive way, connecting players with available tools and independent resources such as ConnexOntario. All customer-facing teams undergo ongoing training aligned with AGCO standards.
Marketing with Integrity
TitanPlay applies rigorous internal review processes to all advertising and promotional campaigns, going beyond Ontario’s standards prohibiting targeting of minors, misleading claims, and public advertising of inducements or bonuses. The company prioritizes transparency, age-gating, and responsible messaging to ensure entertainment is never misrepresented as a financial solution.
A Shared Responsibility Across the Organization
Responsible gambling at TitanPlay is owned across product, marketing, compliance, and leadership — influencing roadmap decisions, user interface design, customer communications, and executive strategy.
The post TitanPlay Highlights Responsible Gambling Approach in Platform Design appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Alberta market
Soft2Bet Evaluates Alberta Market Entry to Strengthen its Canadian Footprint
Soft2Bet, a leading iGaming turnkey solutions provider, announced its intention to pursue entry into the Alberta market, pending regulatory approval. This strategic focus leverages Soft2Bet’s operational experience with localized offerings, including its Ontario-facing brand, ToonieBet.
Strategic Market Potential & Compliance
Alberta (Canada) represents one of the most significant growth opportunities in the North American iGaming landscape. With Canada’s youngest adult population and the highest GDPs per capita in the country, the province is well poised for a successful transition to an open, competitive market. Industry projections by Citizens JMP Securities suggest that Alberta’s regulated iGaming market could exceed $700 million in annual revenue at maturity.
Soft2Bet is closely monitoring the development of Alberta’s regulatory framework under the iGaming Alberta Act, which establishes the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC) as the oversight body alongside the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) as the regulator. Reflecting its commitment to the highest standards of integrity, Soft2Bet is preparing for the province’s specific technical requirements.
The planned entry into Alberta aligns with the company’s strategic plans for 2026 to drive sustainable growth, and enter several new regulated territories.
“Innovation is paramount at Soft2Bet, and our goal is to develop exciting products that meet our customers where they are most comfortable. As we evaluate our entry into Alberta, pending regulatory approval, we are committed to delivering localized, engaging experiences that reflect the unique preferences and culture of each market,” said David Yatom Hay, General Counsel, Soft2Bet.
Excellence in Canadian Localization
Soft2Bet aims to leverage its experience in Ontario to enhance the gaming experience for users in Alberta, Canada, with innovative, compliant products. A core component of the company’s regional strategy involves taking localization further by adapting its brands to local culture, regulatory standards, and player preferences.
To support its hyper-local focus, Soft2Bet targets comprehensive native-language support across its priority regions, ensuring its services are deeply integrated into the local culture of each active regulated market.
The post Soft2Bet Evaluates Alberta Market Entry to Strengthen its Canadian Footprint appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
23 Broadway
23 Broadway secures $3m seed funding to launch AI-powered user acquisition financing platform
23 Broadway has secured $3 million in Seed funding to accelerate the next phase of its growth and launch a fully integrated AI-powered user acquisition financing platform.
The funding round was co-led by Betty and Will Ventures, with participation from 359 Capital, CEAS Investments, and Dave Bartman.
23 Broadway was integral in catapulting Betty to an 18% market share in Ontario through its world-class performance marketing team and proprietary AI system called Atlas.
Atlas determines the optimal cost of acquiring a customer and their predicted long-term value.
With this new funding, 23 Broadway will add non-dilutive capital to fund user acquisition to run alongside its existing performance marketing and technology capabilities into a single integrated solution.
Jordan Tuch, CEO of 23 Broadway, said: “23 Broadway is reimagining user acquisition financing by not only providing capital but deploying it through proprietary technology and performance marketing expertise. We’ve created a model that empowers businesses to scale faster without needing to build complex technology or marketing infrastructure themselves. The ability to use AI and execute bids based on a customer’s predicted lifetime value means we can deploy capital far more efficiently. That combination of predictive intelligence and funding creates a powerful growth engine for our partners.”
The underlying thesis is that platforms combining in-house technology and performance marketing expertise can offer a truly differentiated and durable user acquisition financing solution.
Growth-stage businesses benefit from access to dedicated capital for customer acquisition without equity dilution, while also being able to implement advanced marketing execution across platforms such as Google Ads and other major advertising ecosystems.
Funding will be allocated to develop Atlas further and enhance 23 Broadway’s predictive modelling capabilities. Another focus will be building new AI-driven models to help gaming companies strengthen retention marketing strategies. A final part will be to onboard additional partners seeking scalable user acquisition financing solutions.
The post 23 Broadway secures $3m seed funding to launch AI-powered user acquisition financing platform appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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