How Crypto Played a Part in Ensuring Ontario Online Casinos Hit a Record High in Q1 of 2025

News Publisher Aug 29, 2025 14:30

Since Ontario opened its doors to legalized casino play in April 2022, the industry has continued to thrive.

Since Ontario opened its doors to legalized casino play in April 2022, the industry has continued to thrive. Early revenue figures were solid, but the sector has grown significantly in more recent months. Figures released at the end of 2025’s first quarter show that income has reached a record high. There are a number of reasons behind the new landmark and, along the way, increased interest in crypto has played its part.

The Numbers in Full

Those revenue figures reveal that the new year started in a big way, with $7.84 billion in wagers staked across all Ontario iGaming platforms in January. The figures continued on an upward trend until all records were broken by the end of the first quarter.

The exceptional returns continued into April where initial reports suggest that net revenue from the gambling sector reached over $313 million. Online casino claims around three quarters of the market share, while sports betting generates the bulk of the remaining revenue.

Casino players in Ontario now have a wider choice, and that’s part of the reason why figures have hit a new high. Having started with a fairly limited set of casino providers, the list of available brands has increased as more operators have joined the market. 

A full set of casinos operating in Ontario can be found on third party websites. Casino.org reviews Ontario’s online casinos in-depth, and they constantly update the available list, with industry expert Jemma McColgan providing readers with all they need to know about each operator. An extended choice has played a key role, but perhaps the increasing influence of crypto payments has fallen under the radar. 

Crypto on the Rise

Like most countries around the world, Canada was largely tentative over the use of cryptocurrency during its early years. As systems developed and the processes became more streamlined, interest has grown, while take up slowly started to build.

In the present day, reports claim that Canada is now a major player in this specific area of the digital revolution. From a slow beginning in 2014, there are more crypto users here than in most countries around the world.

The market hit new highs at the end of 2024 and future projections are hugely positive. Forecasts claim that usage will increase by more than 8% moving forward, and that would mean that revenue generated hits $2.4 billion by 2028. While those figures cover the whole of the country, it’s certain that Ontario will have played a significant part in accelerating crypto. It may only be the second largest province by area, but it is the most populated, with around 38% of all Canadian citizens living here.

Crypto can be spent in many different ways, but a significant percentage does go to casinos and other online iGaming sites. Players like the extra security that cryptocurrency offers, together with a level of anonymity. From those statistics, we can comfortably conclude that crypto has played its part in driving that record revenue for online casinos. The casino industry provides that outlet, but in order to ensure future success, players must have enough outlets to engage with.

Opening Up 

For crypto to have any effect on the online casino industry, it must be accessible to consumers. That may sound obvious, but the fact is that many operators remain closed off to any form of virtual currency. Like the average customer, they may also be wary of new innovations that go against the traditional financial concepts. Many of the established brands continue to take this stance, but thankfully the landscape is changing.

More outlets are starting to add crypto to their list of accepted funding methods. The options may be restricted to the most common providers such as Bitcoin or Litecoin, but at least it’s a start. 

Future Projections

For cryptocurrency to keep contributing to the casino sector in Ontario, certain factors need to be in place. Naturally, there is a need for interest and take up to keep developing. The figures suggest more Canadians are switching on to crypto and that trend must continue.

The casino brands also need to play their part by opening their digital doors to crypto usage. Along with the established companies, we may also see an increase in the number of crypto-focused platforms. The stats show that crypto usage in Canada is growing steadily, but there is plenty of room for improvement. After an extended period where the Blockchain appeared to be a mysterious part of an alien monetary system, more Canadians are realizing its potential.

That’s good news for the fledgling iGaming industry in Ontario. Revenue figures are rising but for the figures to remain buoyant, more players need to be able to access the market. Those who prefer to play with cryptocurrency are enjoying more access and, along with the rise in new users, crypto looks set to aid the growing casino revenues even further.

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