Now that uncertainty over ownership is out of the way, it’s full steam ahead to further boost market share in a competitive Ontario market, while ramping up to market launch in Alberta, according to Brooke Hilton, Head of Casino, PointsBet Canada.

PointsBet Canada rinkboard sign at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto during an NHL game between the San Jose Sharks and the Toronto Maple Leafs last spring. Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

For months the battle between MIXI Australia and Betr for control of PointsBet, based in Australia, played out publicly in the news, with offers and counteroffers bouncing back and forth.

A successful Betr bid would have meant the sale of PointsBet Canada to Hard Rock Digital.

So, with that much uncertainty over that long a period of time one could understand how that it wasn’t exactly an optimal environment to do one’s job at max capacity. That was a helluva distraction for employees. It was also prime industry reality TV-type content for those on the outside.

MIXI Takeover

Finally, in September, MIXI Australia completed its takeover bid for PointsBet, securing 66.43% of the shares in the company, wrapping up its majority holding.

For Hilton, based in Vancouver, who joined the company in October 2023, it was welcome relief. Before joining PointsBet, Hilton was at Ingenuity Gaming as Director of Business Development, Bally’s Interactive, working in igaming project development, and before that with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, where she worked on the Play Now casino product.

Hilton was just named to The Innovation Group’s Emerging Leaders of Gaming (ELG) 40 Under 40 Class of 2026.

“The clarity is absolutely powerful,” she said. “It’s key for a lot of us. I don’t know if I have ever seen a more public showing of two companies going after an acquisition. That, being said, nothing really changed in the interim. Our FY 26 starts in July. So, we’re in Q2, doing well against our budget.”

Digital Casino Domination in Ontario

There’s been lots of investment in tech stack, getting the product more in a position for a seamless Alberta launch, and a lot more casino-first acquisition at PointsBet Canada, she said. Being in a market as competitive as Ontario has better prepared them for Alberta. Operators need to bring their “A” game for Ontario, Hilton said. That focus on back-end technology is one way PointsCanada Canada can differentiate itself in a busy marketplace.

“We really wanted to set up our technical foundations again, so we can incrementally add those gamification layers and do something that’s a little bit different and custom to our brand,” she said.

MIXI has a lot of different investments in a lot of different verticals, this being the latest, so the priority for them now is to learn and grow.

“Japanese culture is very long term, very considerate, very strategic,” she added.

That’s what a market as competitive as Ontario requires. As of today, there are 50 licensed igaming operators in the province, with 77 digital casino platforms that are live. Digital casino, Hilton’s bailiwick, has an 84% market share for revenue. It’s massive.

Why online casino dominates the way it has been, across the country, is an interesting question. PointsBet Canada is steadily building on the online casino side of the operation – total games is at 1,400, approximately. MIXI’s involvement will just fuel that growth.

Why Is Online Casino So Popular with Canadians?

Sports betting and online casino have been going through an evolution in Canada. Where in other countries, and cultures, in places like Asia, Australia or the UK, live betting on something like horse racing has been much more socially acceptable, ingrained in the culture. We don’t necessarily have that in Canada, Hilton said.

“So it’s been very much online interaction with all of those products,” she said. “And I think sports betting, for the past five years or so, or maybe even longer, it’s been much more socially acceptable. It’s more crossing over into the realm of entertainment than it is gambling. Sports books have gone through that image shift. Now that casino is becoming more kind of gamification, there’s lot more social element. It’s going through a bit of an image shift, an evolution, in itself.

“I think online casino is also really engaging in the respect that there is similarity to sportsbooks. There are skill-based games. We’re a sports-led brand. There’s a lot of the crossover that we see from sports book is to live casino, so the live dealers, and then blackjack, baccarat and roulette as well. So a lot of games that have a perceived element of skill. There’s multiple decision points. There are interactions, perhaps with a live dealer at some point. A lot of those kind of enhance the overall experience for a player as well.”

Sportsbook and Casino Crossover

Online casino helps fill in the gaps for folks who are sports betting. As Hilton said, you place a bet on the Leafs, for example, you go home, have dinner, watch the game, then after the game you find out the results of the bet, then you log out.

“It’s very transactional, one dimensional,” she said. “Whereas with casino, it’s very engaging, and it enhances that overall gaming experience.  You check your [sports] bet, then maybe you play blackjack, or chat with some of the players in the room. It’s an immersive experience.”

The success in cross-selling people over to casino is where it start to make sense, for those of us sitting back in wonderment, watching those staggering iGaming Ontario numbers every month. The latest for September – CAD$8.55 billion in total cash wagers, CAD $7.343 billion of that for online casino.

PointsBet Canada is well established in Ontario, and will be jumping into Alberta on Day 1, Hilton added. PointsBet Canada’s revenue from sports betting and iGaming in FY 2025 increased 26% year over year to AU$42.9 million (CA$39 million).

The post With MIXI Deal Done, It’s Full Steam Ahead for PointsBet Canada appeared first on Casino.org.