Impressive Figures
NorthStar Gaming posted another quarter of strong growth in Ontario, reporting a 15% revenue increase year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025. The company earned $8.5 million in revenue for the three months ending June 30. This is up from $7.4 million in Q2 2024.
The Q2 revenue includes income from gaming operations and managed services, excluding bonuses, promotional costs, and free bets. Revenue from managed services more than doubled compared to the same period last year. This made a significant contribution to the overall growth.
Gross margin rose 25% year-over-year to $3.5 million; the figure from Q2 2024 was $2.8 million. Expenses in marketing dropped by 16% and accounted for 35.8% of revenue, down from nearly 50% of revenue in the second quarter of last year.
Zooming out to look at the first half of the year shows more pronounced results. From January to June, NorthStar reported $16.4 million in revenue, a 23% increase from the same period in 2024. Gross margin for the first half of the year reached $6.5 million, representing a 39% increase year-on-year.
Innovation Driving Growth
CEO and Chair Michael Moskowitz attributed the growth to increased operating leverage and product innovation. In the company’s August 14 earnings call, he was also keen to highlight that the gross margin is outpacing revenue and reached an all-time high of 40.8%. He added that improved marketing efficiency has enabled growth and also reduced the extent to which operating expenses take up a share of revenue.
NorthStar Gaming, which operates the NorthStar Bets in Ontario, reported record customer retention in the first and second quarters of 2025. The company believes this was driven by repeated engagement with first-time depositors. In the second quarter, NorthStar Bets increased its number of casino games by 27% to 2,000 titles.
Further Canadian Expansion
While Ontario remains a core market, NorthStar is expanding across Canada. Outside of the Heartland Province, the company operates NorthStarBets.com under a license from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and in partnership with the Conseil des Abénakis de Wôlinak.
Mr Moskowitz noted that NorthStar is increasing its Ontario revenue faster than the province’s overall market growth rate, suggesting they are gaining a larger market share. Moskowitz estimates that capturing a 3% market share could generate $280 million in revenue.
NorthStar sees significant opportunity in Alberta, which is expected to launch a regulated iGaming market in early 2026. They estimate the total addressable market (TAM) at $1 billion. This would make the province the eighth-largest regulated commercial online gambling market in North America.
