Ontario’s gambling market generates millions of dollars in revenue every year, and the OLG is thinking of expanding its operations into the online gambling world. While the profits generated by the province’s gambling industry seem impressive, some industry insiders believe they could stand to be a bit better if the OLG were more competitive.
Hartley Henderson of the Ontario Senior Games Association has stated that the OLG could be generating twice as much revenue. In order to make this possible, he suggests that the monopoly become more competitive, offering better payouts for casino games and odds for sportsbetting.
In Ontario casinos, the average payout for electronic gaming devices is 85%, whereas online casinos offer payout percentages of 96% of more. Even in the land-based gambling market in America (for example, Nevada) the lowest payout percentages are still about 89%. If the OLG wants to compete with existing online casino operators, it will have to adjust its payouts to be more competitive.
The reason behind offering online gambling from the Ontario Lottery Gaming Corporation is to reclaim some of the money being spent at offshore gambling websites. However, if the OLG cannot offer competitive payouts and odds, they will fail to do and continue to encourage residents to give money to offshore operators.
