Bet99, a brand which has long been operating in Ontario’s grey market, is set to join the province’s regulated online gaming and betting market in the near future.

Kings Entertainment Group and Sports Venture Holdings (SVH), which announced a merger in May 2022, are the combined parent company of Bet99. A condition of that merger was that Bet99 receive a license to operate fully and legally in Ontario.

That condition has now been satisfied, as the companies announced on September 6 that SVH subsidiary CanCo, which operates and markets BET99.ca to residents of Ontario, has been approved for registration as an internet gaming operator with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).

Jared Beber, CEO of SVH, said that “as the sports betting season heats up with summer sports peaking and the football, hockey, and basketball seasons [get] started shortly, this is perfect timing for us to hit the ground running.”

Even before this licensing, Bet99 already has a significant presence in Canada.

SVH is a holding company of subsidiaries that operate the BET99 brand. SVH’s Swiss subsidiary, BQC Consulting GmbH, operates website BET99.com, a “real-money” website, pursuant to a license issued by the Kahnawá:ke Gaming Commission, and BET99.net, a 100% pure free-play website, marketed throughout Canada.

While operating in the grey market, Bet99 also signed Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews to be a brand ambassador for its free-to-play site in Ontario. That is one of several Canadian brand partnerships it holds, also including UFC Hall-of-Famer Georges-St-Pierre, the Ottawa Senators, Live Nation, Postmedia, Major League Soccer franchise CF Montreal, and the Montreal Alouettes.

Now that Bet99, which became a member of the Canadian Gaming Association in the spring, has received a license, the merger of Kings and SVH is targeted for the first half of Q4 2022.