Canada’s most valuable gambling brand isn’t licensed to operate there, new CasinoCanada research finds

25 August 2026 – Stake has been ranked as Canada’s most valuable online gambling brand despite not holding a licence to operate in any Canadian province, according to new research from CasinoCanada.com.

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The research analysed 301 gambling brands active across Canada and estimated Stake’s market value at CAD 2.50 billion ($1.8bn), placing the offshore, crypto-enabled operator ahead of all regulated competitors in the country.

Stake is also one of four offshore operators to feature among Canada’s ten most valuable gambling brands.

Offshore Players Account for a Disproportionate Share of Wagers

The research points to a significant difference between the number of Canadians using licensed gambling platforms and the amount being wagered across regulated and offshore sites.

Figures from Blask for August 2026 show that 66.47% of Canadian gamblers use licensed operators, compared with 33.53% who use offshore platforms.

Despite representing the smaller share of players, offshore sites recorded CAD 712 million ($512m) in wagers, while licensed operators accounted for CAD 484 million ($348m).

The findings suggest that Canadians gambling offshore are spending considerably more than those using licensed platforms.

Ontario’s Channelisation Rate Contrasts With Other Provinces

CasinoCanada’s research also highlights substantial differences between Ontario and the rest of the country.

Ontario has recorded a widely cited channelisation rate of 91%, but the report argues that this figure does not reflect the situation across other Canadian provinces.

Outside Ontario, estimated offshore leakage reaches 93% in Saskatchewan and 88% in both Alberta and Manitoba.

In Quebec, where Loto-Québec has operated since 2010, offshore leakage is estimated at 83%. British Columbia, where BCLC’s PlayNow platform has been established for years, records an estimated rate of approximately 49%.

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Product Gaps Identified as a Driver of Offshore Gambling

According to CasinoCanada, part of the movement towards offshore platforms can be attributed to products that regulated operators are not permitted to offer.

AGCO standards require balances in Ontario to be held in Canadian dollars through an authorised financial services provider. As a result, cryptocurrency is excluded from the regulated market by design.

Prediction markets also remain largely outside provincial regulatory frameworks.

Both areas are seeing significant growth among offshore operators. Rainbet has increased its Canadian business by 621% year-on-year, while offshore prediction market activity has risen by 161%, according to the research.

Research Highlights Risks Among Younger Bettors

The report also examines the relationship between offshore gambling and players considered more vulnerable to gambling-related harm.

A 2026 Toronto Metropolitan University study involving more than 1,800 bettors in Ontario and Alberta found that men under the age of 30 reported 50% greater gambling-related harm and 44% higher anxiety than the broader betting population.

The study also found that 60% of those surveyed considered responsible gambling messaging to have little or no impact on them.

Norwegian account-level data referenced in the research showed a similarly concentrated pattern among problem gamblers. While problem gamblers represented 2.1% of players, they accounted for 46% of offshore turnover.

CasinoCanada Says Regulation Remains Fragmented

Eugene Ravdin, Head of PR at CasinoCanada, said:

“Ontario has proved that regulation can work at scale, and it deserves the credit it gets. The problem is that the rest of Canada is being measured against a number it has no realistic route to matching, province by province, with none of it joined up.

Offshore operators aren’t winning on trust or on brand – they’re winning on products licensed operators are structurally not allowed to offer, marketed to exactly the group the data says is already at most risk. Until that gap closes, better messaging on its own won’t bring players back.”

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