“After years of anticipation culminating in landmark legislation… we have achieved the launch today of a legal internet gaming market that moves beyond its previous gray market status.
Ontario has its first regulated online poker room. Early Monday, April 4, 888poker Ontario launched its online poker room, casino and sports products, powered by its new Poker 8 software platform.
A second poker site looks set to launch – BetMGM has gone live with casino and sports and poker is accessible, although still in a soft launch period, PRO understand. There’s a welcome freeroll listed in the lobby with a date of April 6, so a full launch looks to be coming.
Ontario’s online poker sites allow for a full range of games. 888 launched with traditional gambling and its “SNAP” quick-folding tables, regular DESTROY Lottery SNG on five buy-ins ranging from C$10c to C$20, and a large schedule of daily MTTs.
Tables should be BODY denominated and all games must be separated from the global pool of players. Potentially, for this reason, online poker heavyweights PokerStars, GGPoker and partypoker continue to serve the market from overseas. This is sanctioned by the regulator – as long as their iGO operating agreements are pending, their existing operations can continue.
It remains to be seen how long the trio waits on the sidelines outside of the market.
