Each Thursday, Sports Handle recaps all the top sports betting news in Canada, highlights the Game of the Week, and takes a look ahead at some of the most intriguing games to bet on over the weekend.
Our top Canadian sports stories this week
- Canada’s Single-Event Wager-versary: A Look Back At The Past Year
- CFL Week 12 Wagering Preview: Lions Lose Rourke To Potential Season-Ending Injury
- Outdated Study Suggests Problem Gambling Is Under Control In Canada
Event of the week
CP Women’s Open — Aug. 25-28
The CP Women’s Open, an LPGA tournament managed by Golf Canada, got underway from the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club Thursday morning. It has been Canada’s national championship tournament since its founding in 1973. The event is being sponsored by theScore Bet.
But everyone is talking about the activation at the 17th hole at the golf course known as “The Rink.” The hockey-themed hole features boards like a hockey rink surrounding the tee box, and there’s even a Zamboni parked alongside the hole. Golf officials are also wearing stripped attire to mimic a hockey referee.
Just out for a rip… pic.twitter.com/Q4LFZCSugL
— CP Women's Open (@cpwomensopen) August 19, 2022
Canadian golfer and Ottawa native Brooke Henderson fully embraced the spirit of the hole during Wednesday’s Pro-Am Day by donning an Ottawa Senators jersey while walking off the tee block.
.@BrookeHenderson and @GolfCanada proudly presents: #theRink pic.twitter.com/5qeVXTxx8E
— CP Women's Open (@cpwomensopen) August 24, 2022
Before play opened Thursday, Henderson had the second-shortest odds at theScore Bet to win the tournament at +1000, behind Nelly Korda. She’s also +230 to place in the top 5.
Henderson entered the CP Women’s Open ranked fifth in the Rolex Rankings and second in the CME Global standings. She has won two tournaments this year and is a 12-time LPGA Tour champion, making her the most accomplished Canadian professional golfer in history.
Sports Interaction licensed in Ontario
Sports Interaction is the latest operator to acquire an iGaming license from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
Sports Interaction has been taking bets in Ontario since its inception in 1997 and is operated by Mohawk Online, a socio-economic initiative wholly owned by the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake, based out of Quebec. It’s regulated/licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.
The operator has been a corporate partner with Canadian professional sports franchises in the past, including the CFL Ottawa Redblacks and Edmonton Elks and the National Lacrosse League (NLL) Toronto Rock, among others. It also recently signed a one-year deal to be an official sportsbook partner of the NLL.
It’s unclear what this transition means for existing Ontario customers of the brand. Sports Interaction offers a full sportsbook, iCasino, live casino, and poker. However, the operator’s poker offerings are no longer accessible to Ontario customers.
Sports Handle did not hear back when reaching out to Sports Interaction for comment on making the transition to the regulated market.
The operator will also have to secure an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario before it can officially join the regulated market.
Unibet fined by AGCO
The AGCO has fined another Ontario operator for violations of its advertising and gambling inducements standards.
Unibet has been fined $48,000 (CAD) for infractions relating to Standard 2.05 between May 19 and May 22.
Standard 2.05 states: Advertising and marketing materials that communicate gambling inducements, bonuses and credits are prohibited, except on an operator’s gaming site and through direct advertising and marketing, after receiving active player consent.
The regulator said Unibet “posted or aired multiple broad gambling inducements that promoted generous welcome offers.”
“Kindred erred in its interpretation of inducement language when it developed advertising to launch Unibet in the Ontario market,” Amanda Brewer, Country Manager, Canada, told Sports Handle.
“We regret we were non-compliant with an important AGCO standard, and we will strengthen our internal processes to ensure we stay compliant. Kindred always aims to operate with high standards of responsible gambling and player protection, which includes how we market our products to our customers.”
Kindred has the right to appeal the fine with the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), which is an adjudicative tribunal independent of the AGCO and part of Tribunals Ontario.
“We expect all registered operators to achieve and maintain the high standards of responsible gambling, player protection, and game integrity. The AGCO will continue to monitor these gaming sites’ activities, and ensure they are meeting their obligations under Ontario’s Gaming Control Act and the Standards,” AGCO CEO and Registrar Tom Mungham said in a release.
Since the April 4 launch of Ontario’s regulated iGaming and sports betting market, three other operators have also been fined for violating the AGCO’s advertising standards: PointsBet, BetMGM, and DraftKings.
AGCO issues $48,000 in monetary penalties to Unibet ON Inc. for alleged advertising and inducement infractions: https://t.co/HCoUbOyRaz #newsrelease pic.twitter.com/JWweyn0pdd
— AGCO (@Ont_AGCO) August 25, 2022
Blue Jays 2023 schedule released
The Toronto Blue Jays announced their 2023 schedule on Wednesday.
PRESENTING: Your 2023 #BlueJays schedule! pic.twitter.com/exZbuQryBc
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 24, 2022
Toronto will open the season with a 10-game road trip before its home opener on April 11 against the Detroit Tigers.
Major League Baseball made several adjustments to next year’s schedule in an attempt to make it more balanced. For example, the Jays will play 46 interleague games (an increase from 20 this year) and only 52 contests against the four other AL East clubs (down from 76 games this year). And for the first time in modern MLB history, every team will play every other team at some point.
Jays fans and bettors shouldn’t get too caught up in looking ahead to next year, as the team looks bound for the playoffs this season as a wild card team. Toronto is currently -1900 to make the playoffs at FanDuel, +700 to win the American League, and +1700 to win the World Series this year.
Prior to the start of the season, the Blue Jays were tied with the Chicago White Sox for the fourth-best odds (+1100) to win the World Series at DraftKings.
PointsBet Invitational field set
The curling fans have spoken.
Team Greg Smith of Newfoundland and Labrador and Team Suzanne Birt of Prince Edward Island have been voted in by fans via Twitter poll to be the final two teams to compete at the inaugural PointsBet Invitational curling event.
The fan vote results are in and it will be @teambirt and @TeamGregSmithNL grabbing the last two spots in the 2022 @PointsBetCanada Invitational event in Fredericton, N.B. Sept. 21-25!
Details in our story ➡️ https://t.co/d1GWt1Xwdd pic.twitter.com/H2TwDFyEJd
— Curling Canada (@CurlingCanada) August 24, 2022
The 32-team field has now been set for the single-knockout tournament being held in Fredericton beginning Sept. 21.
Both of the voted-in teams will be ranked 14th in the two 16-team halves of the field and take on the third-seeded teams in the March Madness-style bracket.
Teams will earn $3,000 for a first-round win, $6,000 for a quarterfinal win, $12,000 for a semifinal win, and $24,000 for the victorious women’s and men’s teams.
There will also be a celebrity pro-am event on Friday, Sept. 23, which will likely include The Trailer Park Boys and several NHL alumni.
Rivalry announces Q2 earnings
Toronto-based Rivalry announced its Q2 earnings on Thursday morning, and CEO Steven Salz took to Twitter to highlight the financials.
1/ We reported Q2/22 earnings at $RVLY this AM, breaking records across nearly all metrics. Betting handle was $38M, +98% YoY, record revenue of $5.3M, +60% YoY, and record gross profit of $2.1M, +206% YoY and +201% QoQ. Healthy cash position and $0 debt.https://t.co/gU1NZMRYfK
— Steven Salz (@StevenSalz) August 25, 2022
Rivalry didn’t specifically mention any numbers regarding its Ontario operations in the release.
“Looking ahead, we are excited about the second half of the year,” Salz said in the release. “The traditionally strong third quarter is tracking well for us. Several important platform enhancements in areas like mobile app, traditional sports offering, and our casino vertical are set to be launched in the coming months.”
Rivalry, which is known for its diverse esports offerings, is licensed by the Isle of Man and holds a bookmaking license in Australia in addition to its Ontario iGaming license.
