It was all tied up in the 111th minute of the Canadian Premier League final last month when Tristan Borges lined up a corner kick.
As the ball sailed inward through the fall air, it briefly soared above the logo of TonyBet before finding the back of the net for the deciding goal in the contest. Fireworks went off, the players celebrated, and Hamilton, Ont.-based Forge FC went on to capture their fourth Canadian Premier League (CPL) title.
The CPL, Canada’s top professional soccer league, is trying to make a name for itself. So, too, is one of its corporate backers, TonyBet, a Baltic-based bookmaker whose namesake is poker player and Lithuanian politician Antanas Guoga, who also goes by Tony G. The company received its Ontario sports betting and iGaming registration in December of 2022, which allowed the operator to launch event wagering and internet casino gambling in the province’s regulated market.
From Adonijah Reid's late winner in Langford to Tristan Borges' championship-winning Olimpico, and everything in between ?
— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) November 22, 2023
Here is every single goal from the 2023 CPL Playoffs! ?#CanPL I ? @onesoccer pic.twitter.com/egOiKJ6RfX
That license was followed by the tie-up with Canada’s up-and-coming domestic soccer league. In April, the CPL announced TonyBet as its official sports betting and online casino partner, which is why the bookmaker's logo was plastered all over Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton last month for the league final, including the cameo on the winning shot.
Sportsbook operators need all the friends they can get in Ontario, where there are 70 or so online gaming sites authorized by provincial regulators. TonyBet is banking on its connections to football (the European sort) and a better and more robust soccer offering to help it stand out from the crowd and acquire customers in Canada’s most populous province.
“We were looking into the Canadian market and the Canadian iGaming space,” said Joachim Lemmens, head of social and content at TonyBet. “And we said, ‘Hold on, there's a lot of things being done in hockey, there's a lot of things being done in football, there's a lot of things being done in basketball.’ But no one is really claiming that soccer spot right now.”
Morning #CanMNT supporters! ??
— TonyBet Canada (@TonyBet_Canada) November 21, 2023
It's match day as we aim to secure a spot in @CopaAmerica tonight against Jamaica.
Leading 2-1 on aggregate, unbeaten at BMO for 13 years, and our last encounter with Jamaica at home... well, you remember.
Any score predictions? ?#CopaAmerica
The CPL, which operates in not necessarily huge but still significantly sized communities in Canada, like Hamilton and Halifax, fits with the vibe TonyBet is going for, which is to be a trusted brand in those kinds of places.
“We don't want to be the biggest,” Lemmens said in an interview with Covers this week. “We want to have certain communities … where we are relevant.”
Part of TonyBet’s soccer focus is also because of its ties to Europe, where the game is king for sportsbooks and bettors. Those ties, however, are not exclusive to the bookmaker, as many Canadians trace their roots back to Europe, South America, and Asia, where football means soccer.
Lemmens said soccer is already one of TonyBet’s top three sports by wagering in Ontario. Furthermore, soccer was the second-most bet on sport in the province in the first year of Ontario’s competitive iGaming market, accounting for 15% of all wagers, according to the government agency legally responsible for the framework.
TonyBet is aiming to keep that interest in soccer on its platform by putting up markets other bookmakers may not. Not every operator, for example, is hanging odds on the Kuwait Premier League, but TonyBet is, and the sportsbook wants to offer that along with some custom bets tied to its media partnerships.
“Not every single bookie has odds available on the CPL,” noted Lemmens. “So we are trying to leverage the partnership by offering some unique odds that not all bookies have.”
A beautiful opportunity
Whether TonyBet’s strategy pans out in the long run remains to be seen. It is, however, involving itself in the beautiful game as soccer is on the upswing in Canada and North America. The CPL, for instance, reported record attendance this past season of more than 400,000 fans, with six of seven clubs (not including an expansion team in its first year) seeing year-over-year growth. Nearly 14,000 additional people also attended the CPL final on Oct. 28.
Canada, meanwhile, is preparing to play host to World Cup matches in 2026, fresh off the country’s second appearance in the tournament in 2022. The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship next year will likely stir up soccer fandom in Canada’s English, Italian, and Portuguese communities, among others.
“There's just so much happening in the next three years that is relevant to Canada and the North American market,” Lemmens said.
??NEW POD and SONG DROP!??We're using our Just Released Inaugural Boy Band Album to promote today's FP News & Dubs! Amazing work from our Supporters Crew! #CANMNT, #PremierLeague #FootyPicks Also much like our Boy Band, no #Dubs today.
— Footy Prime The Podcast presented by TonyBet.ca (@footy_prime) November 24, 2023
GET IN! https://t.co/hVt3iQYHfr https://t.co/fLEmENvJXc
Ontario is currently the only Canadian province that allows private-sector operators such as TonyBet to legally take action within its borders. However, the partnership with CPL provides TonyBet with a way to introduce itself to potential bettors in provinces that may someday go the Ontario route.
TonyBet has also allied itself with some familiar faces in the world of Canadian soccer punditry. Namely, the bookmaker sponsors the Footy Prime podcast, hosted by the likes of James Sharman and former Premier League goalkeeper Craig Forrest.
It’s through outlets like Footy Prime that TonyBet hopes to educate its would-be customers on the intricacies of wagering on soccer, provide them with a few suggested plays, and explain why their wagering should take place on the TonyBet platform.
“Part of next year’s strategy is going to be more local podcast influencers in some local communities, potentially where there are some CPL teams,” Lemmens said. “To have them talk a bit more about sports betting and to talk a bit about what possible bets are available on TonyBet and what they would recommend.”
