Saskatchewan: PlayNow.com collects almost $24M in first two months since launch

Saskatchewan's new online gambling and sports betting platform PlayNow.com has generated CAD 31.8 million ($23.7 million) in wagers in its first two months of operation, according to figures provided by the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA). Data also reveals that the amount of money bet on the website grew from CAD 14.8 million ($11 million) in November to CAD 17 million ($12.7 million) in December.

According to SIGA, the site had 8,015 registered users by December 31, which means that for every registered user, PlayNow.com received an average of CAD 3,967 in wagers over its first two months.

SIGA's Director of iGaming, Michael Bellegarde, said the total amount wagered also includes winnings that were bet again, as well as promos, bonuses and free bets provided by the platform. Removing those, PlayNow.com received an average of about CAD 460 in deposits over its first two months for each registered user as of December 31.

Moreover, the authority said the average deposit of registered users' own money over November and December was CAD 67. Users made 55,000 total deposits amounting to CAD 3.7 million over those two months. Bellegarde said after winnings were paid out, the platform netted CAD 1.6 million ($1.2 million) over those two months. 

Of the CAD 31.8 million wagered on the site in November and December, Bellegarde said CAD 30.6 million was from eCasino gambling, while sports betting was responsible for CAD 1.2 million.

"One of the things that surprised me a little bit is that sports are not as big of a driver for the net win as the slot machines," he said, as reported by the CBC. "The reality is that sports make up less than five percent of our net win."

According to Bellegarde, SIGA's research indicated online sports betting across the country gets similar returns.

Furthermore, Paul Burns, the President and CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association, said single-event sports betting typically makes relatively little for online platforms.

"So what you get is a knowledgeable sports fan, a fan of a certain sport or certain team, they can bet just on that game or just on that sport," he said, according to the above-mentioned media. "And they know it well and so they may bet a few dollars to win a few more dollars." 

Paul Burns, President, and CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association.

After seeing the revenue and the number of registered users on the Saskatchewan PlayNow.com platform over its first two months, Burns said it's off to a "great start" and it's a "tremendous success." "We now have a licensed, regulated product for the people of Saskatchewan that didn't exist," he stated.

As per SIGA data, the average sports wager on PlayNow.com over November and December was CAD 30. Moreover, 47% of all sports bets were live bets. The platform earned the highest net win from bets on NFL football, soccer, tennis, and basketball, in that order. The most bets were placed on hockey, followed by the NFL, basketball, and soccer.

SIGA was given exclusive rights to establish the province's first regulated website for online casino games and single-event sports betting and turned to the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) to design and launch PlayNow.com in early November.