Our top Canadian sports stories this week
- BetMGM Becomes Official Sportsbook Partner Of The NFL In Canada
- A Canadian Story: How Props.Cash Is Helping People Make Smarter Prop Wagers
- Land-Based Sportsbooks Could Launch In Ontario By September
- CFL Week 10 Wagering Preview: Can Blue Bombers Have A Perfect Season?
- Canadian Provincial Gaming Corporations Form Coalition Against Illegal Online Gambling
Event of the week
WTA National Bank Open
Canada said goodbye to a women’s tennis legend on Wednesday night, as Serena Williams played her final match on Canadian soil after falling to Belinda Bencic in straight sets in the second round at the WTA National Bank Open in Toronto, Ontario.
On Tuesday, Williams announced her retirement from tennis following the US Open later this month. After the announcement, Wednesday night’s session featuring her match quickly sold out, and some tickets were going for upward of $1,000 on StubHub.
The 40-year-old has won more Grand Slam singles titles (23) than any other woman or man during the open era. (Margaret Court won 24 Grand Slams, but more than half of them preceded the open era.)
Love from the 6ix??
Toronto gives Serena Williams a proper send off following her loss to Belinda Bencic!
??: @Sportsnet | #NBO22
pic.twitter.com/SLC0YIygHF— FanDuel Canada (@FanDuelCanada) August 11, 2022
Bianca Andreescu is the lone Canadian left in the field after she advanced to the Round of 16 with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over France’s Alize Cornet on Wednesday. The 2019 US Open winner has +1100 odds at Coolbet Canada to win the National Bank Open and is a-154 favorite in her next match against Qinwen Zheng.
OLG launches PROLINE + app
On Monday, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation launched the first, and only, sports betting app in Ontario to offer both online and in-store wagering options.
The new PROLINE + app allows bettors to place wagers online, but also has the option to build bet slips and generate a barcode on the app, which can be used to purchase betting tickets at the roughly 10,000 retail locations across the province. It can be downloaded on both iOS and Android devices.
PROLINE + launched last August, but sports bettors needed to visit OLG’s PROLINE website in order to place online wagers prior to Monday’s launch of the new app.
“The new app gives players the unprecedented ability to make a sports bet directly on the app or at retail using the bet builder functionality. This latest product enhancement reinforces our commitment to convenience and choice for our players while also offering a competitive sportsbook with the confidence, trust, and goodwill of the OLG brand,” said Dave Pridmore, OLG’s chief digital & strategy officer, in an email release.
OLG had a monopoly on the legal sports betting market in Ontario until the launch of the province’s regulated iGaming and online sports betting market on April 4.
OLG has been busy establishing partnerships with the big four sports leagues -'NHL, NBA, MLB, and NFL'- in an attempt to stay competitive in the increasingly crowded sports betting market in the province.
Experience more ways to bet with the latest PROLINE+ App. Now offering real-time betting with PROLINE+.
Download the PROLINE App today: https://t.co/8SazxV04oD #OLGProline pic.twitter.com/LTJaNSPbjA
— PROLINE (@OLGproline) August 10, 2022
Ontario revenue report update
We’re still waiting for the first Ontario iGaming and online sports betting revenue numbers from regulators.
Regulators told in early June that the numbers would be released “very soon,” once the provincial government had a chance to review and sign off on them. Executives from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and iGaming Ontario also reiterated at June's Canadian Gaming Summit in Toronto that numbers would be released “shortly.”
Ontario’s provincial election was held on June 2, and the government led by the Progressive Conservative Party’s Doug Ford was re-elected. Many elected government officials take significant vacation time during the summer months, which could be slowing government administration processes.
“It’s not anything purposeful. They [regulators] need sign-off. And I don’t think they’ve got that yet. When they do, they’ll release them. They want to release them. I know operators want to see them,” Canadian Gaming Association President Paul Burns told this week.
The province's 2022 spring budget estimated that iGaming Ontario will generate net income of $18 million in 2022-23, $26 million in 2023-24, and $31 million in 2024-25.
Coolbet Canada secures new curling partnership
It’s summer in Canada, but it won’t be long until the leaves are falling and bettors shift gears to winter sports.
Last Friday, Coolbet Canada announced a curling sponsorship deal with Team Mike McEwen during a podcast.
After spending his entire curling career in the province of Manitoba, McEwen will play out of Ontario starting next season. He also announced his new team on Friday:
The wait is finally over! We're so excited to announce Team McEwen.
Skip: @MikeMcEwen80
Third: @ryanfry79
Second: Jonathan Beuk
Lead: @blaing99A huge thank you to our title partner @coolbetcanada for the help to announce our new squad! We're pumped to have you on the team ???? https://t.co/KQFMIwCoVz
— Team Mike McEwen (@TeamMcEwen) August 5, 2022
McEwen won the 2013 Brier and boasts a gold medal on his resume from the 2014 Winter Olympics as a member of Brad Jacobs’ rink.
Just days after the April 4 launch of Ontario’s regulated market, Coolbet Canada also inked Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse as its “ambassador of cool.”
We are excited to announce the newest member of the @CoolbetCanada team is none other than six-time Olympic medalist and Canada's fastest man, Andre De Grasse!@De6rasse has been named Coolbet's “Ambassador of Cool”.