Is PointsBet Canada on the Block?

Posted on: April 30, 2025, 02:15h. 

Last updated on: April 30, 2025, 03:09h.

Mark Keast Read More

Expertise: Canadian Gaming, iGaming, Las Vegas, Sports Betting, NFL, Boxing, UFC.

Lots of trade pub chatter today about a possible PointsBet Canada sale to Hard Rock Digital, but is there any fire with the smoke?

$225 Million Deal

As one industry source told us, “buying a customer database makes no sense unless there’s a license application that’s already underway.”

According to reporting, Betr, which owns 20% of PointsBet in Australia (which owns PointsBetCanada), has upped its offer to buy the Australian online ganbling operator, trying to fight off an ongoing bidding war with Japan’s MIXI, an entertainment firm.

The reporting says Betr, which merged with BlueBet in 2024, intends to take controlling interest of PointsBet, with a US $230 million offer. PointsBet’s management outlined concerns to its shareholders earlier this month about Betr’s ability to finance the deal. Hence they recommended MIXI’s offer (US $225 million).

What About Alberta?

Again, according to stories in the trade publications, Betr has put together US $77 million in financing and an offer from Seminole Hard Rock Digital to buy PointsBet Canada for US $19 million.

Casino.org reached out to PointsBet Canada this morning but we were told there would be no comment. We reached out to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario to confirm if Hard Rock had submitted an application for an igaming license.

We can confirm that there are igaming operator applications in progress for AGCO registration,” an AGCO spokesperson said. “The company you have referenced has not applied for registration.”

We’ve reached out to Hard Rock Digital to confirm if there’s interest in the Ontario market but we haven’t received a response as yet.

Also, as the industry source pointed out, “Canada” just means Ontario for now. But a new Ontario-style igaming market will be live in Alberta, likely in 2026, and PointsBet Canada CEO Scott Vanderwel has confirmed to us in the past his company’s interest in expanding into that new market.

Betr Efforts to Buy PointsBet in Australia

PointsBet sold its U.S. assets to Fanatics in April 2024 but held onto the Canadian operation.

PointsBet Canada’s market share in Ontario is unknown. According to H2 Gambling Capital data, the global specialist gambling sector market data provider, bet365 has the largest market share among licensed igaming operators in Ontario, at 15%.

H2 utilizes sources like web traffic, affiliate traffic and search volume data to estimate market size and growth rates in regulated markets where there is no official data.

“PointsBet aren’t currently captured in our data at the moment,” a spokesperson said.

That could mean they are part of the “others” category in H2’s market share list for Ontario, which is at 24%. 

In its H1 FY25 announcement, PointsBet reported an 18% increase in total net win in Canada for both sports betting and iGaming (CA$16.5 million). Total handle on sports betting through the first six months of FY2025 was CA$152.4 million (45% year-over-year increase) and on the iGaming side, it was CA$487.2 million (39% year-over-year increase).