American online casino operator Rush Street Interactive Incorporated has announced that it is planning to launch into the Canadian province of Ontario from early next month after being registered by the jurisdiction’s gaming regulator.

The Chicago-headquartered firm used an official Thursday press release to detail that its application with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario could allow its mobile-friendly online casino and sportsbook at BetRivers.ca to go live for aficionados living in Ontario from as early as April 4. The company stated that it already runs a free-play version of this service aimed at those in Canada’s most populated province and now intends ‘to satisfy all remaining regulatory requirements’ in order to be ready to roll out a real-money compatriot.

Proper pledge:

Rush Street Interactive Incorporated is also behind the Colombia-facing domain at RushBet.co as well as the Pennsylvania and New Jersey-licensed PlaySugarHouse.com site. The firm’s Chief Executive Officer, Richard Schwartz, used the press release to declare that the move into Canada will serve as ‘an important milestone’ and show the commitment of his company towards ‘operating only in legalized markets where we pay local taxes.’

Read a statement from Schwartz…

“We are now one step closer to launching the BetRivers.ca real-money online casino and sportsbook in Ontario and bringing unique betting options such as our innovative peer-to-peer slot tournaments and same-game parlays, fast payouts and award-winning customer service to the province’s millions of residents. Our free-play social gaming platform has experienced strong traction in Ontario to date and we look forward to offering those players similarly entertaining and responsible experiences when our real-money offerings come on April 4.”

Confident challenger:

The notice from Rush Street Interactive Incorporated was followed by a declaration from Swedish competitor LeoVegas AB that it had similarly been registered with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. The Stockholm-headquartered iGaming enterprise disclosed that this move should analogously allow it to begin offering online casino, live-dealer and sportsbetting entertainment to punters in the Canadian jurisdicton via its RoyalPanda and LeoVegas-branded domains from as soon as April 4.

Tempting territory:

The Chief Executive Officer for LeoVegas AB, Gustaf Hagman, used an official Monday press release to proclaim that his firm now intends to complete ‘the necessary onboarding steps’ so as to further grow its presence in an Ontario market that currently accounts for approximately 13% of its total revenues. The boss additionally asserted that his company’s domain at LeoVegas.com is already ‘the third most well-known online casino brand in the Canadian market’ while its RoyalPanda.com site ‘has shown strong growth’ to indicate its services are ‘appreciated by North American customers.’

A statement from Hagman read…

“Our full focus now is to complete the process and we look forward to launching in a regulated environment. Given our track record and knowledge of operating in regulated markets, we continue to have high expectations and ambitions for continued growth in the Ontario market.”

Pioneering provision:

Finally, prominent online casino games developer Play‘n GO has revealed that the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario recently awarded it with a supplier licence, which means that its titles will be able to be deployed by any of Ontario’s certified iGaming sites. The Malta-licensed innovator used a Monday press release of its own to note that this accreditation is to additionally allow such Canada-facing domains to feature its wide range of video slots including the five-reel Rise of Olympus, Tome of Madness and Book of Dead advances from next month.

Expansion exercise:

Magnus Olsson (pictured) serves as the Chief Commercial Officer for Play‘n GO and he pronounced that regulated iGaming markets are ‘vital’ to the business strategy of his firm and ‘the industry as a whole’ as these help to ‘ensure a safe gaming environment for players’. He subsequently divulged that his company’s entry into Ontario represents only the first stage in its ‘North American entry strategy’ as it soon intends to begin making its innovations available to punters in selected jurisdictions of the United States ‘for the very first time.’

Olsson’s statement read…

“Ontario is an important province representing some 40% of the population of Canada and we look forward to players there enjoying our games. With Ontario’s regulated market opening, followed by our entry into the United States, it’s set to be an exciting year for Play‘n GO.”