PowerPlay has been in business for five years. What have been the most surprising things you’ve learned about Canadian sports betters and iGamers?
Robert Davies: The Canadian betting market has existed for a long time. It’s not been regulated but that’s changed with Ontario’s regulation. Still, there has been plenty of activity in betting. I’ve got experience in both the States and Europe and the Canadian market to me feels like a bit of both. The Big Four American sports are popular. But also, things like soccer are popular. Tennis is popular. Table tennis is popular. We see a different mix than an American or European punter.
That’s what the Canadian market looks like to us. In Canada regulation’s the big thing... From our perspective we want to get licences. We want to operate legitimately. We’ve got a foothold in Canada, our site is customised for Canadian customers, for the products Canadian customers want. I think British Columbia or Alberta are going to be the next states that regulate – it seems to change every week in terms of which is ahead of the game, but we want to get licences. We think the player protection is much better... We’re committed to growing in the Canadian market.
Five years ago, we didn’t know where we were going to grow. Initially, we thought of the Caribbean. Our Founder and CEO Dean [Serrao] is from Barbados himself. That was our target audience initially. We had loads of problems getting traction in the Caribbean, mainly because of payment methods. Then we hit Canada. It was an expanding market. There were lots of opportunity. It was a good customer base; they were very polite. We want to grow, to go through that licensing journey. We want to help expand the products and markets for the Canadian audience.
You mentioned the regulatory environment in Canada. Can you talk a little bit about that and the challenges it presents?
RD: If you look at it in the broader context of gambling, 30 years ago there was no regulated online gambling anywhere. Then certain countries took the lead. The UK, where I’m from, is at the forefront of that. Over time, every market will become regulated. It just operates differently in different areas. In the US for example, it’s very clear. You’re either illegal or legal and legitimate. Canada was always an odd one because it was not illegal, but it wasn’t regulated. There were plenty of markets like that: it was easier to access and there was no risk of being prosecuted... There was no legal reason we couldn’t access the market. But from our point of view, being on firm footing and being a regulated operator is much, much better. It’s better for us and better for our players.
From our point of view, being on firm footing and being a regulated operator is much, much better. It’s better for us and better for our players
You mentioned the mix of sports that gamers in Canada like. For readers less familiar with the Canadian market, what is that mix?
Larry Fisher: It’s really interesting because in Canada hockey is king. That’s the national sport and you would assume that would be number one among Canadian bettors. But actually, it ranks number six as far as the amount wagered. Interestingly... basketball is number one in Canada. In talking with Bill [O’Brien], the number of wagers on basketball and hockey are quite similar, but the amount wagered on basketball is way more. Whether that has to do with parity in basketball, maybe it’s easier, safer to make bigger bets on basketball, knowing which teams are more likely to win as opposed to hockey.
It’s interesting that basketball is the leader. But then, look at guys like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, potentially the NBA MVP this year. He’s Canadian. Basketball is booming in Canada. The other one that’s been on the rise is soccer. Although it comes in at number four, behind basketball, baseball and tennis, soccer is number four for revenue generation and amount wagered. The MLS season is just starting. You have Lionel Messi, an international superstar in MLS. You’ve got three Canadian teams; Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver. The Champions League is ongoing. That’s always been a big interest for Canadian bettors, as well as English Premier League. Having international stars like Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David, it’s put soccer not far behind the Big Four... Soccer is right there, ranking ahead of American football, the NFL and hockey.
It’s cool to see the CFL getting televised in the US... there are some American players that didn’t make it in the NFL but come to the CFL and have success up here. It’s gaining popularity throughout North America
Bill, our sportsbook manager, said one of the big reasons tennis and soccer rank ahead of NFL, American football or ice hockey is that they are year-round. The number of events help tennis and soccer because there’s always something available to bet on versus the NFL, limited to the 16-week or 17-week schedule and playoffs... Ice hockey has 82 games, but not nearly on the same level as tennis and soccer. Players love live betting. Another that will take you by surprise is table tennis, right behind ice hockey, [at] number seven... Players love the live betting there. Again, that’s another sport [where] there’s going to be a table tennis tournament somewhere in the world to bet on, especially the live sides.
I wasn’t expecting to talk about table tennis today! Basketball is also surprising. But the [Toronto] Raptors... Has that influenced Canadian interest in the NBA?
LF: Definitely. The Raptors, their playoff run and how wild that was in their championship run. Kawhi Leonard was with them at the time. That was a huge influence on the fandom in Canada for basketball, but also the uptick in the amount of Canadians who are playing basketball. It’s become one of the more popular sports here.
When the Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies (now Memphis Grizzles) came into the NBA, that was big for kids growing up in Canada to see what the NBA looked like... Salaries are a little higher in the NBA than the NHL... and it’s a cheaper sport to play. You need a ball and some shoes. You don’t need a full set of equipment like you do in hockey. Families have gravitated towards basketball in a lot of ways and the star power of guys like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is something that’s translated from families to individuals – and bettors.
Does that also include March Madness, college basketball? Or is that not quite as popular?
LF: Rob can speak to that as well. But it is a big revenue generator for us. It always has been. We have a big campaign coming up around March Madness. Selection Sunday is only a week away (at the time of writing) and with sports betting especially, everybody does their bracket and then crumples it up and throws it out after the first round because barely anybody survives. But when you’re playing on a sportsbook, you can pick and choose where you’re at. There are those who live underdogs with March Madness. It’s a fun time of the year to bet and there are big wins to be had around March Madness. That is a hot market through the end of March and into April.
You mentioned American football. Is there interest among bettors in the Canadian league? The Grey Cup is always very entertaining.
RD: It’s cool to see the CFL getting televised in the US... there are some American players that didn’t make it in the NFL but come to the CFL and have success up here. It’s gaining popularity throughout North America.
I think on the betting side it lags behind the NFL. The NFL is the premiere league for football in North America. But... there’s markets like Saskatchewan that don’t have any other pro sports teams at all. The Roughriders, they’re king there. I think that’s a sport, or a league within a sport, that’s got some betting interest. It’ll continue to grow as PowerPlay becomes more popular coast to coast in Canada. We have the [Toronto] Argonauts and the [Ottawa] Redblacks in Ontario, where live betting is fully regulated and there’s a lot of interest there.
Then we hit Canada. It was an expanding market. There were lots of opportunity. It was a good customer base; they were very polite
What have you found your customers’ preferences are on the casino side?
RD: One thing I’d say is content is king on the casino side. It’s all about new games and new content, particularly slots. Slots are already popular with our customers. They tend to get bored [and] a little bit superstitious. If one slot they lose, they want to play a different one. We’ve got lots of different operators we use and aggregators to provide regular updates on content, particularly on slots.
Live casino is popular and is becoming more popular, but it’s not a massive mainstay of our business. On-demand table games, roulette and baccarat are popular as well. But that’s the key with a casino. It generates as much revenue as sports, but casino players are different. It’s about regularly updating content and stopping them from getting bored.
