Alberta Salivates as Ontario Casino Games Hit Revenue Record in May

^{Ontario hits record revenue numbers with online casino providing an unprecedented 88% of total revenues. Poker and sports betting are a side show in comparison.}

This is the last report Ontario will issue before Alberta launches commercial iGaming on July 13. And it's a doozy! Alberta online casinos are salivating at the prospect of similar success in the very near future.

Ontario's regulated iGaming market generated C$9.48 billion in total wagers in May 2026 — up 17% year-over-year — with online casino games posting a new all-time revenue record and extending a dominance over sports betting that has no close parallel in comparable regulated markets.

The figures, published by iGaming Ontario (iGO), cover the 46 licensed operators managing 80 gaming websites active in the province during the month.

May's wager breakdown by product:

• Casino (slots, live dealer, table games): C$8.37 billion — 88% of total wagers, up 3% month-over-month
• Sports betting: C$972 million — 10% of total, down 7% month-over-month
• Peer-to-peer poker: C$134 million — 1% of total, up 5% month-over-month

On the revenue side, casino generated C$326.4 million in NAGGR — a new all-time monthly record, up 4% from April and up 25.6% from C$259.8 million in May 2025. Sports betting produced C$81.3 million and poker C$5.4 million.

Casino's wager share has not dipped below 85% in any of the past 12 months. Its 79% share of NAGGR reflects the structural advantage of Ontario online casino products: higher house margins relative to sports betting, where sharp bettors can compress operator returns significantly.

The headline market figures for May:

• Total wagers: C$9.48 billion (up 17% year-over-year)
• Total NAGGR: C$413.1 million — second-highest ever, trailing only December 2025's C$425.6 million
• Active player accounts: 1.257 million (down 1% from April)
• Average revenue per active player: C$329 (up 3% month-over-month)

The degree to which casino dominates Ontario's iGaming mix is striking when set against other mature regulated markets. Sports betting typically commands a larger share in jurisdictions where online casino launched later or is more restricted.

Ontario and Michigan track closely — both are markets where online casino launched alongside sports betting with a full suite of products from day one. New Jersey, where online casino has been legal since 2013 and sports betting only since 2018, shows a slightly lower casino share as sports betting has had time to grow independently. The UK's lower casino proportion partly reflects a more mature sports betting culture and tighter slot restrictions introduced in recent years.

The consistent pattern across all four markets: once online casino is available alongside a regulated sportsbook, casino generates the majority of revenue. Ontario simply does it at a higher magnitude than most.

Alberta's regulated iGaming market launches July 13 with the same lineup of operators that has driven Ontario's casino-heavy growth — FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars Palace Online Casino, and bet365 among them.

Ontario's data suggests what Alberta's revenue mix is likely to look like once the market matures. Operators in Ontario have increasingly prioritized standalone casino products: FanDuel and DraftKings both operate dedicated casino apps in the province, a direct response to the overwhelming share that casino commands.

Alberta enters with a population of around 4.7 million — roughly 30% of Ontario's — but with an equally large grey market to convert. If its regulated market tracks Ontario's product mix, casino will account for the significant majority of revenue from early in the market's life.

Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC) CEO Dan Keene has set a target of 70% channelization within two years of launch — getting the majority of current grey-market players onto licensed platforms. Ontario's May figures illustrate what that channelized market looks like in practice: a casino-first ecosystem where sports betting is a secondary vertical, not the headline act.

Ontario reached C$9.5 billion in a single month's wagers just over four years after launch. Alberta, starting from a similar grey-market baseline, now has a detailed blueprint for what the trajectory looks like.