Score Media Sees Bright Future in Canada

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TheScore Eyes Future in Canada Mobile Sports Betting Market

It’s virtually guaranteed that single-event betting is on its way into Canadian law books. With it will come a massive new market for sports gambling. Every casino will be looking to install a sportsbook. Assuming federal laws will closely mimic those in the United States, opening the doors to competition between operators, provincial regulators will be racing to authorize and license as many online and mobile sports betting brands as are willing to pay the no-doubt-exorbitant fee.

Our southerly neighbors have already legalized sports betting in 20 states and the District of Columbia (a.k.a. Washington, D.C.) Competition is fierce down south, with big names like DraftKings, FanDuel, WilliamHill, and BetRivers dominating the region’s industry. Those same brands are expected to flock northward when the time comes, but they may find a more formidable foe in Toronto-based Score Media.

TheScore Eyes Canada Mobile Sports Betting Market

Score Media & Gaming, owner of the sports news mobile app and media giant, theScore, and the sports wagering app, theScore Bet, may be flagging against major competitor brands on US soil, but in Canada, its popularity is unrivaled. On Wednesdays, the free sports mobile app jumped into the #1 position on the CA Google Play Store.

According to a report in Bloomberg, Score Media says it currently caters to around 4 million active users, with over 1.4 million logging in from Ontario alone.

Bear in mind, Canadian users are not (yet) able to place bets via theScore’s mobile applications. For now, they are privy only to the popular sports news network. The good news for Score Media is that, being so adored by local sports fans, if and when its Canadian mobile betting app goes live here, it could easily jump into the number one spot, surpassing the biggest companies operating in the U.S. market.

Plans Underway to Launch theScore Bet Canada

Score Media CEO John Levy and his son, COO Benjie Levy, are already making plans to launch theScore’s real money sports betting app in their home country of Canada. For now, the mobile sportsbook app is available only in three US states – Colorado, Indiana, and New Jersey.

The Toronto firm saw its stocks rise 111% on the year. Most of that came in the final weeks of 2020, following the late-November introduction of the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act by Federal Justice Minister and Attorney General of Canada, David T. Lametti. That bill introduce the one thing Canadians have never had legal, local access to, straight-up, single-event sports wagers.

According to analysts with Credit Suisse, “Assuming full legalization in Canada, we think this could be a $4 billion revenue opportunity.” The bill, which is being hailed as a sure-thing by political experts, will be a major topic of discussion when Parliament reconvenes later this month.

MP Irek Kusmierczyk (Windsor-Tecumseh) is optimistic that the legislation will move quickly, and with an affirmative response. “We’re hopeful that we can actually move this process along quickly,” he said in a statement. There’s always the possibility of opposition, but Kusmierczyk added, “it does feel as though there’s support among all three parties.”

If and when the Canada mobile sports betting market opens, Score Media CEO John Levy says his company will introduce “the best damn sports media company in the betting space.”