When Ontario introduced a competitive regulated iGaming market, Martha Otton was tapped to lead the commercial entity that would steward the province into a new era of legal online gambling.
iGaming Ontario announced Thursday Otton’s intention to retire from her role as the organization’s first-ever executive director on Dec. 31, 2024.
“On behalf of the entire Board, I extend my sincere appreciation for Martha’s leadership of iGaming Ontario,” said Heidi Reinhart, chair of iGaming Ontario’s board of directors.
“She has left an impressive legacy across her career, and in particular to Ontario’s gaming sector. Ontario’s competitive igaming market is testament to her visionary leadership and commitment to working with our operators and broader stakeholders.”
The organization’s board will now start looking for Otton’s successor.
“Martha Otton built a tremendous team of professionals, stood up a brand new industry in the province, and oversaw growing revenue for government while keeping players safe,” Dave Forestell, former chair of iGaming Ontario said in a post on his LinkedIn profile. “Early on, iGaming Ontario set a mission to make Ontario the best gaming jurisdiction in the world. It sounded audacious, but Martha Otton and the team at iGaming Ontario made it happen.”
Where Ontario’s iGaming market stands
A few years removed from Ontario becoming the first Canadian province to allow an army of private-sector iGaming operators to legally launch and accept wagers from residents, there are now nearly 50 operators and more than 70 sports betting, casino and, and poker sites taking action with the blessing and under the regulation of local authorities.
Ontario was the sixth-largest online gambling market in the world by regulated gross gaming revenue, according to research firm Vixio GamblingCompliance, trailing only the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey in the first half of 2023.
The second year of Ontario’s great experiment in online gambling saw wagering with internet casinos and sportsbooks climb even higher, with iGaming Ontario reporting a total of $63 billion (in Canadian dollars) was wagered in the province's competitive online gambling market during the year ended March 31. This represented a marked 78% increase from the year before, highlighting the continued growth of iGaming in Canada’s most populous province.
Government officials seem happy with the progress so far too, as a report from Deloitte found that the regulated iGaming industry provided $2.7 billion to Ontario’s gross domestic product and sustained 14,935 full-time employees in 2023.
“Through the development and growth of Ontario’s regulated iGaming market, we’re helping achieve the government’s goals in terms of job creation, innovation, and development, while providing a safer experience for consumers,” Otton said.
