We’re excited to bring Hot Tables to our players in Ontario. This feature gives grinders, recreational players, & everyone in between, a chance at the same life-changing prizing that BetMGM Casino players regularly enjoy through our jackpot network
The trio of sites on the partypoker Ontario online poker network, led by BetMGM Poker Ontario, has moved ahead of rival 888poker.ON to take the lead in the market, the latest cash game figures reveal.
According to the latest cash game data, tracked by GameIntel and available exclusively on the Poker Industry PRO data platform, BetMGM Ontario, along with partypoker Ontario and bwin, averaged 66 concurrent cash game players over the last seven days, far ahead of independent competitor 888poker, at 39.
It comes as the network has deployed its popular Hot Tables feature, which drops cash prizes at its fast-fold cash game tables, likely helping to boost traffic. Tables are randomly selected as Hot, where all players at the table receive a cash bonus, with the winner of the hand nabbing the largest share.
“On the heels of our launch, we’re excited to bring Hot Tables to our players in Ontario,” said Luke Staudenmaier, Director of Poker at BetMGM. “This feature gives grinders, recreational players, and everyone in between, a chance at the same life-changing prizing that BetMGM Casino players regularly enjoy through our jackpot network.”
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BetMGM’s Traffic Now Well In Front of 888poker Ontario
888 was the first to launch in the regulated Ontario online poker market, going live on April 4. The next day, BetMGM joined to compete. One week on, partypoker and bwin also launched, connecting with BetMGM to create a three-way online poker network.
At launch, 888 took the market lead in cash game traffic, consistently reporting around 40 concurrent cash game seats. The BetMGM Ontario network peaked at around 30 in mid-April, where it remained.
However, in May, the network saw traffic soar. On the 9th, it overtook 888 for the first time, and since then, it hasn’t looked back. Single-day figures put network traffic at over 100 concurrent seats — triple that of 888poker Ontario — and anecdotal evidence of turnout in tournaments also suggests that the network is now far ahead of 888 in terms of poker action.
Ontario Online Poker: May Update
| Operator | AGCO license? | iGO authorized? | Launch |
|---|---|---|---|
| 888poker | Yes | Yes | Launched on April 4 |
| BetMGM | Yes | Yes | Launched April 5 |
| Partypoker | Yes | Yes | Launched April 12, connected with BetMGM |
| bwin | Yes | Yes | Launched April 12, connected with BetMGM |
| WSOP (GGPoker) | Yes | No | Delayed launch, ETA unknown |
| PokerStars | No | No | Launch expected in late June |
Hot Tables Add Extra Value to the Cash Game Tables
The traffic surge started before Hot Tables deployed, but it will certainly be helping drive traffic to the cash game tables as it effectively amounts to free cash for all cash game players.
The way it works is simple and similar to how “cash drops” features work on other sites. Cash game tables are randomly picked as Hot Tables which trigger a special cash prize. In most scenarios, this pays out money to all active players at the table, with the biggest share going to the winner.
As PRO reported, Hot Tables in Ontario can trigger as Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. In the first two tiers, only the winner of the hand wins the additional money boosted by the feature. In the top three, the winner gets 50% and the rest is shared among the other players at the table.
It is currently available only on the operator’s fast-fold variant, FastForward, spread in three different stakes: CAD $0.05/$0.10, CAD $0.25/$0.50, and CAD $1/$2.
The actual size of the boost can be boosted up to 1500 big blinds, which at the highest stakes available ($1/$2) means a maximum top prize of $1200.
BetMGM, partypoker, and bwin will be hoping to solidify a strong position in the Ontario online poker market ahead of increased competition expected to arrive shortly as both PokerStars and GGPoker are expected to introduce their products into the regulated Ontario market soon.
However, both launches are currently delayed and their debuts are unknown. PokerStars has yet to receive its license from the AGCO; the operator says that it expects Ontario players to play in SCOOP, which is currently underway, meaning that its launch would come in mid-June at the earliest.
The delays at GGPoker are less clear. It has received its AGCO license, but it has not executed its agreement with iGO, the final step before being authorized to launch. It may be that the operator is biding its time while its main competitor PokerStars also waits on the sideline. When it does launch, it will do so under the WSOP brand.
Meanwhile, the pair continue to serve the market from offshore.
Download the BetMGM Poker Ontario app, partypoker Ontario app and learn everything there is to know about these rooms in our Guide to Real Money Ontario Online Poker »
