How much are you gambling on sports? Ontario’s agency in charge of controlling the new public gambling operators market reported yesterday that $4 billion Canadian Dollars worth of wagers were placed in the period of their first ever quarterly report, which covers Q2 2022 (April 1 to June 30, though the first operator did not launch until April 4).

Note these figures include all online gambling, not only sports betting, so all of those online casinos which you see advertised are included in that sum too. An article from the Financial Post linked below quotes an SME who thinks sports betting accounts only for about 10% of the total, but that’s still $400M of bets placed on sports by Ontario residents in only a three month period (other provinces report their own totals through their own separate agencies), and this was a rather light period with the obvious most-popular sport for betting being football, and Q2 sits totally outside of football season. We’ll see where this goes over the next few months as we enter the brief period in October where all the leagues are running games simultaneously.

There’s a poll below to share if you have started to dabble in this market by opening an account yet. Full disclosure: I have not.

iGaming Ontario reports $4 billion in wagers in first ever earnings - Financial Post
$162 million in total gaming revenue was earned by 18 operators and 31 iGaming websites in it’s first operating quarter, which was Q2 2022.

Hockey News

Canada vs. USA is the classic women’s hockey rivalry, and last night it played out in a round robin game that could be a preview of the championship match at the Women’s Worlds in Denmark. The USA won this round.

United States beats Canada in group stage finale at Women’s Worlds

Both sides now move on to the knock-out rounds, starting with the quarterfinal matches which include the teams from six other countries who moved on. Not making it through were Germany and Denmark. Hungary does move on as a newcomer on the scene.

Penguins extend coach Mike Sullivan through 2026-27 - PensBurgh
The Pittsburgh Penguins are planning on keeping their bench boss for an extra three seasons.

Tage Thompson’s Extension with Sabres Is Major Vote of Confidence - Die By The Blade
Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams signed him to a seven-year extension worth $50 million. His cap hit with the new contract will be $7.1M. The new deal begins in the 2023-24 season, as Thompson finishes out his current three-year deal with an AAV of $1.4M.

Some Thoughts on Radio Rights and the Canucks’ Media Landscape - Nucks Misconduct
Canucks radio rights are up in the air, and that has implications for the local media scene. With TSN radio already gone, is Sportsnet next? [SPECIES: If Bell can shutter their sports radio station in a large market like Vancouver, they can do it Toronto too. So can Rogers.]

Meanwhile, the Hockey Canada saga continues because Hockey Canada executives can’t help but make themselves look even worse with each passing day. Parliament now wants to know where they got the money to pay for their newly-retained and highly-expensive Bay Street PR firm, which has succeeded only at making people even more disgusted with the Hockey Canada executives and board.

Have you made any wagers on sports through any of the new operators in Ontario or other provinces in Canada?

I’ve opened an account and I bet on games regularly.8
I’ve opened an account, but I’ve only made one or two bets for fun.5
I don’t have an account, but I’m considering it.13
I’m not interested in it at all.107
I live in a place where you can’t legally bet on sports.3
I just want them to stop with all the endless commercials about it.96
From The Branches