PointsBet’s Canadian sports betting business continues to grow as the company reported big jumps in handle and net win in Canada last quarter.

While iGaming remains PointsBet’s chief source of revenue in Canada, the gap between online gaming and sports wagering closed significantly over the last 12 months.

In the first quarter of the Australian fiscal year (FYQ2 2024 in Canada) from June 1 to September 30, PointsBet Canada reported that its sports betting handle rose by 57% year over year to reach C$63.5 million. Sports betting net win grew even more healthily, rising 77% to $3.8 million last quarter, while iGaming net win was up 50% to reach $4.2 million.

However, sports betting’s new win margin rose by less than a percentage point, 5.9% compared with 5.3% this time last year. Sports wagering gross win was up 59% to $5.3 million.

In an interesting note, PointsBet appears to have echoed what other leading operators have reported about the growth of live, in-play betting over the last year. In-play betting accounted for 76% of PointsBet Canada’s total sports betting turnover, up from 68% last year, and played a key role in the company’s Canadian growth. PointsBet said this segment’s growth reflects “a broader market trend favouring real-time betting experiences, which PointsBet has capitalized on through its proprietary in-play betting technology.”

Overall, total net win across both verticals in Canada climbed 62% to just below C$8 million, which PointsBet noted was above the general level of Ontario market growth. PointsBet said in its earnings update that it expects cashflow to break even during this fiscal year regarding its Canadian sector.

Its Canadian growth far outpaced company-wide growth across all its operations and jurisdictions, where the company reported a 12% year-on-year increase in total net win.

Canada an increased focus for PointsBet

PointsBet has sharpened its focus on the Canadian market in 2024 as it completed the sale of its U.S. operations to Fanatics Betting and Gaming. PointsBet is now completely out of the American market as it concentrates on its home-market status in Australia and its Canadian presence.

Back in July, the company reported that its Canadian sports betting operations more than doubled its net win for the full Australian fiscal year (July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024), growth that was around 10 times as high as the company-wide trend. PointsBet’s Group CEO Sam Swanell told investors at the time that the company is gaining market share in Canada and grew faster than the overall Canadian market in 2024, noting that “Canada remains an earlier stage market with more strong growth potential.”

On a call with investors on Thursday, Swanell said he expects gross margins in Canada for the year to be in the 8-9% range, and “we’d like net to be around 6%.”

In the latest release this week, the company said it is expanding its casino platform in Canada, having increased game content by 50% and launched three new content providers in the Great White North. PointsBet added iGaming content from Pragmatic Play, Relax Gaming and PlayAGS in recent months.

PointsBet said it plans to expand its promotional tools and capabilities, as well as improve loyalty programs to strengthen retention in the coming quarters as it looks to continue to outperform the market and grow its market share towards medium-term targets.