Hard Rock Digital Secures Green Light for Ontario Launch

Posted on: May 16, 2026, 11:12h. 

Last updated on: May 18, 2026, 05:22h.

Mark Keast Read More
Expertise: Canadian Gaming, iGaming, Las Vegas, Sports Betting, NFL, Boxing, UFC.
  • Hard Rock Digital officially joins the province’s regulated market after clinching its iGaming license
  • The launch capitalizes on brand familiarity following the grand opening of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa last year
  • The addition pushes Ontario’s booming ecosystem to 44 licensed operators running a massive network of 76 gaming websites

Hard Rock Digital Canada Ltd. has secured an internet gaming operator license from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) for its Hard Rock Bet platform, a development first reported in SNBET.ca.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa opened its doors in 2025, which included an expanded gaming floor area. Image/Hard Rock

One-Year License

The license was issued May 14 and expires on May 13, 2027. Hard Rock Digital declined to share any further details surrounding the operator’s launch plans when contacted by Casino.org.

Reports that Hard Rock Digital was interested in an Ontario license first surfaced in 2025, when a senior industry source told Casino.org that the company had applied to local regulator, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission Of Ontario (AGCO) for a license.

At the time, speculation linked Hard Rock’s license application directly to its attempt to acquire PointsBet Canada. The move was part of a broader corporate battle, where rival operators Betr Entertainment and MIXI were locked in a bidding war for Australia-based PointsBet.

Under Betr’s proposed takeover strategy, PointsBet Canada would have been spun off to Hard Rock Digital in a deal valued at USD $29.6 million. However, that transaction fell through when MIXI ultimately won the bidding war and acquired PointsBet.

Ottawa Operations

Hard Rock Bet is currently licensed and operating in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee and Virgina for online sports betting. The company is licensed in New Jersey and Michigan for online casino.

In 2017 Hard Rock International acquired a controlling interest in the Rideau Carleton Raceway in Ottawa, announcing plans to re-develop the site.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa launched in 2025, a $350 million re-development featuring a 150-room hotel, expanded gaming floors, live table games and high-limit areas, multiple restaurants and bars, and the Hard Rock Live entertainment venue.

With the approval of the iGaming license, Hard Rock can now cross-sell its iGaming platform with its land-based business.

Ontario’s regulated igaming market is currently at 44 licensed operators and 76 gaming websites, according to the iGaming Ontario website this morning.