Regulation

Entain’s Party brands transition from grey to white in Ontario

By Conor Mulheir - 13 Apr, 2022

Entain’s partypoker and PartyCasino brands have gone live with licensed operations in Ontario after registering with the local gambling regulator.

Partypoker players in the province will now be moved onto a new Ontario-ring-fenced domain name; on.partypoker.ca, which went launched on 12 April. They will also need to download a new poker client.

Once on the platform, customers will be able to access poker, casino and sports betting from once central hub, with Canadian dollars now in use.

However, some familiar casino titles may no longer be available to players due to local market regulations.

Entain MD of Party brands Vic Walia: “As a Canadian and Toronto native myself, I am particularly proud of this moment in our company’s history.”

Any customers’ cash balances will be automatically transferred to the new platform and converted into Canadian dollars after players consent to the Ontario-specific terms and conditions and privacy policies, including identity verification.

Vic Walia, MD of Party brands at Entain, said: “I am truly excited that all three of our Party brands are entering the Ontario market.

“Both recreational and professional players living in Ontario will be able to experience a world class gaming product across poker, casino and sports. As a Canadian and Toronto native myself, I am particularly proud of this moment in our company’s history,” he added.

Entain continues to strengthen its foothold in the Ontario market, with its MGM Resorts International joint venture business BetMGM being one of the first online brands to launch in the newly regulated province.

BetMGM expects to turn a profit in the US, its key market, by 2023, after reporting an EBITDA loss of some $440m for the full-year 2021.

In February, Entain also acquired Canada-facing operator Avid Gaming in a deal worth C$300m. Avid Gaming owns Sports Interaction, a leading Canadian online betting brand run by Mohawk Online, a digital subsidiary of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke and part of the Mohawk Online socioeconomic initiative.

Entain said the acquisition would drive growth in the country alongside its BetMGM, Bwin and Party brands, although Sports Interaction is unlikely to apply for a regulated operating licence.