- Hard Rock Bet launched in Ontario on July 22, its first market outside the United States.
- Ontario has now licensed 48 operators across 82 gaming sites, with Hard Rock Bet the latest to go live.
- Ontario players wagered $82.7 billion in the last fiscal year, with casino games taking 84% of it.
- Its platform pairs a sportsbook with more than 3,000 casino games, anchored by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa.
TORONTO – Hard Rock Bet went live in Ontario on July 22 with a sportsbook and online casino, its first market outside the United States and its entry into one of North America’s most saturated regulated fields, where it registers as operator No. 48.
A Late Entry Into A Full Field
Ontario opened its regulated iGaming market in April 2022. Four years later, the province counts 48 operators running 82 sites, according to iGaming Ontario, the provincial body that registers them.
The money those sites compete for is large and still growing. Ontario players wagered $82.7 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31, generating $3.2 billion in gaming revenue, increases of 31% and 32% over the prior year.
Casino games took $69.6 billion of those wagers, or 84%, against $11.4 billion on sports and esports betting. The province’s market has kept breaking records, and the growth is mostly a casino story, a split that puts most of the volume in the vertical Hard Rock has stocked most heavily.
DraftKings, FanDuel, Bet365 and the province-run OLG are among the incumbents already holding that share.
What Hard Rock Brings
Hard Rock Bet went live on iOS, Android and desktop with a sportsbook offering parlay wagering across international sports and a casino of more than 3,000 slots, table games and live dealer titles, the company said in its launch announcement. Points banked through its Unity loyalty program convert into rewards at the brand’s Hard Rock Bet Reward Store, and the operator opened with a promotion it calls Legendary Reward Drops.
Marlon Goldstein, chief executive of Hard Rock Digital, said the Ontario debut is the first time the company has taken its platform to players beyond the United States.
The Ontario presence leans on physical roots the digital-only incumbents lack. It ties the new online brand to the established Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa, and the company said it was building the launch around local talent, partnerships and customer support. Christine Crump, president of the Ottawa property, framed the online arrival as a logical next step for the brand in the province. To mark the occasion, Canadian rapper Choclair re-recorded his track “Let’s Ride.”
Among licensed online gambling sites for Canadians, Hard Rock Bet adds another welcome offer and loyalty program under the same Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario licensing framework as the province’s other 47 operators.
What Happens Next
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario registered Hard Rock Bet effective May 14, 2026, a one-year registration valid through May 13, 2027. Until this month, Ontario ran the only fully open, privately licensed iGaming market in Canada; Alberta opened a competitive market of its own on July 13, giving national operators a second regulated Canadian jurisdiction.
