With MIXI Deal Done, It’s Full Steam Ahead for PointsBet Canada
According to Points Bet Canada Head of Casino Brooke Hilton, now that ownership issue has been resolved, there is full steam ahead to increase market share in a competitive Ontario market while ramping up to market launch in Alberta.
Offers and counteroffers between MIXI Australia and Betr for control of Australia-based PointsBet were widely shown in the news for months.
Hard Rock Digital would have purchased PointsBet Canada if Betr's proposal had been successful.
One could understand why it wasn't precisely the best setting to perform one's work to the best of one's abilities given the amount of uncertainty over that length of time. For the staff, that was a huge distraction. For those outside, it was also excellent reality TV.
Takeover by MIXI
MIXI Australia completed its acquisition of PointsBet in September, obtaining 66.43% of the company's shares and completing its majority stake.
Hilton, a Vancouver-based employee who joined the organization in October 2023, was relieved. Hilton worked on iGaming projects as Director of Business Development at Ingenuity Gaming prior to joining PointsBet. Prior to that, she worked on the Play Now casino program for the British Columbia Lottery Corporation.
“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.”
Dominance of Digital Casinos in Ontario
Hilton stated that a large amount of money has been invested in PointsBet's tech stack to set the company up for a smooth debut in Alberta, as well as other casino-first acquisitions at PointsBet Canada. They are more equipped for Alberta because they are in a market as competitive as Ontario.
According to Hilton, operators must bring their "A game" to Ontario. PointsCanada Canada may stand apart in a crowded market by emphasizing back-end technologies.
"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.
Since this is the most recent of MIXI's several investments in various industries, learning and development are currently their top priorities.
“Japanese culture is very long term, very considerate, very strategic,” she added.
That is necessary in a market as competitive as Ontario. There are already 77 digital gaming platforms and 50 licensed iGaming companies in the province. Hilton's bailiwick, a digital casino, has an 84% revenue market share.
It's intriguing to wonder why online casinos are so popular around the nation. With almost 1,400 games, PointsBet Canada is continuously expanding its online casino business. The participation of MIXI will only accelerate that expansion.
Why Do Canadians Love Online Casinos So Much?
In Canada, online casinos and sports betting have been evolving. In other parts of the world, like as Asia, Australia, or the UK, live betting on events like horse racing has been far more socially accepted and deeply embedded in the local culture. According to Hilton, we don't always have that in Canada.
"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 a lot more social element. It’s going through a bit of an image shift, an evolution, in itself.”
Hilton continued by saying that sportsbooks and online casinos are comparable. "We see a lot of cross-over from sportsbooks to live casinos, including live dealers, as well as blackjack, baccarat, and roulette. There are therefore many games with a perceived skill component. There are several places to make decisions. There are exchanges, possibly at one point with a live dealer. Many of those also improve the player's overall experience.
Casino and Sportsbook Crossing over
For those who also wager on sports, online casinos can close the gaps. As Hilton mentioned, if you wager on the Leafs, for instance, you go home, have supper, watch the game, learn the outcome, and then 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.”
For those of us who sit back in awe and watch those astounding iGaming Ontario figures every month, the success in cross-selling customers to casinos is where it begins to make sense. Online casinos accounted for CA$7.343 billion of the CA$8.55 billion in cash wagers made in that sector in September.
Hilton continued, "PointsBet Canada is well-established in Ontario and will jump into Alberta on Day 1." In FY 2025, PointsBet Canada's sports betting and iGaming income climbed by 26% to AU$42.9 million (CA$39 million).
