SPRIBE CCO Giorgi Tsutskiridze on why Ontario creates new opportunities for crash games

Ontario has quietly become the benchmark for regulated online gambling in North America. In the year to March 2025, its third full year of operation, players wagered $82.7 billion on licensed sites and generated $3.2 billion in gaming revenue, up around a third on the year before, across 49 operators running 84 sites. Those are iGaming Ontario's own numbers, which describe a market that is well past finding its feet.

What stands out, particularly to anyone watching from the United States, is what Ontarians actually play, which is a casino market first. Of that $82.7 billion wagered, casino games accounted for $69.6 billion – roughly 84% of the total – while sports and esports betting, the headline act in most newly regulated US states, made up about 14%.

The pattern has held as the market has grown. In March 2026, its strongest month on record at $9.59 billion wagered, casino still drove 82% of all operator revenue, and sports betting handle actually slipped year-on-year.

That is close to the opposite of what happened in the US, where sportsbooks led the land grab and casino followed behind. Ontario went the other way. Part of the reason is structural, since the province regulated online casino and sport together rather than bolting casino on later, but the behaviour underneath is real – Ontarians treat online casino as the main event, not a side bet.

It matters that this is happening inside the regulated market, instead of around it. An IPSOS study cited by iGaming Ontario found that roughly 84% of Ontarians who gamble online are using licensed sites, a channelisation rate most jurisdictions would envy. For a supplier, that means the audience is where it should be, which is inside the regulated ecosystem and playing on approved platforms, effectively being counted in the official figures.

All of which helps explain why crash games have found such a natural home in the province. For anyone new to the format, a crash game is extremely simple to become familiar with.

A multiplier climbs from 1x, and the player must cash out before it crashes. Time it well and the stake is multiplied, but leave it a beat too long and the round is lost. There are no reels or paylines, and nothing to learn before the first bet. It is one decision, made under a ticking clock, again and again.

That simplicity is exactly why the format travels. Crash games are built for the phone, they resolve in seconds and they carry a social layer, with shared rounds, visible bets and live chat, all of which a traditional slot lacks. Aviator, the game that defined the category, has been live in Ontario since SPRIBE received AGCO approval in 2023, and crash titles have since grown into one of the busiest corners of the online casino floor.

Line that up against the Ontario data and the fit is hard to miss. A casino-led market, played overwhelmingly on mobile, by people who have shown they want to be involved in a game rather than place a bet and walk away, is close to the ideal conditions for the format.

Crash games sit inside the casino category that already dominates the province, but they answer a slightly different want – speed, clarity, and a game you can pick up and understand instantly.

None of this means slots are on the way out. They remain the backbone of that 84%, and likely will for a long time yet. The more interesting question, now that Ontario is past its third birthday and the growth story is shifting from signing up players to keeping them, is which formats bring people back.

On the evidence so far, the province rewards casino play that is quick, played on a phone and genuinely engaging, and crash games are one of the clearest examples of all three at once. For SPRIBE, that makes Ontario less a market to crack than one already moving in its direction.

Earlier, we discussed the province's launch with Dmitry Arabuli of Tonybet, Alona Sereda of Playfina Partners, Adam Pentecost of Gaming Corps, and Robert Kowalski of Kiron.

CasinoCanada thanks GameOn for facilitating this interview.