In August 2021, BetRegal became the CFL’s first official online sports gaming partner. That marked a significant milestone for the league, establishing sports betting as a formal part of its commercial partnership strategy. Since then, the league has moved on from individual operator deals to a broader mix of provincial, league-wide, and team-level partnerships involving big names such as theScore Bet, FanDuel, and bet365.
When July 2025 arrived, ToonieBet became the CFL’s first official gaming partner with a league-wide agreement. A year later, theScore joined in with its own CFL partnership. These deals show just how quickly the Canadian sports-betting market has developed, but because gambling regulation varies by province, these partnerships don’t look the same across Canada.
Here’s how the CFL’s gaming partnerships have developed since 2021, what the deals cover, and how those partnerships translate into different fan experiences across several regulated Canadian markets.
2021–2022: The CFL’s First Betting Partnerships
BetRegal’s multi-year agreement gave the league its first formal relationship with an online sportsbook. Rather than continuing to treat betting as a separate activity happening around the sport, the league formally incorporated an online gaming operator into its roster of commercial partners for the first time.
The year after, sportsbook partnerships appeared at the team level. In March 2022, the Ottawa Redblacks partnered with PointsBet Canada, becoming the first CFL team to have a sportsbook partnership. Then, the Edmonton Elks followed with Sports Interaction. These agreements showed that individual teams could also establish operator relationships, and that they weren’t limited to the league.
But why did all these partnerships begin taking shape at this specific moment in time? The timing was closely tied to changes in Canada’s sports betting market. While single-event sports betting was legalized federally in 2021, Ontario’s regulated iGaming market launched in April 2022, giving licensed online casinos and sportsbooks a new framework. Naturally, as the regulatory landscape matured, the range of gaming partnerships available to sports organizations became more abundant.
After becoming an official sportsbook and online casino partner in Ontario, FanDuel joined the CFL’s growing roster of betting partners in 2023. That first wave of partnerships established that gaming companies could now partner with the CFL and individual teams, but the scope of those relationships depended on where operators were licensed and what provincial regulations allowed.
2023–2024: The Provincial Divide
Within just two to three years, the CFL’s gaming partnership roster was expanding. NEO.bet joined as an Authorized Gaming Operator and Sportsbook Partner in Ontario in August, then 888 followed suit in September. Partnerships with operators such as bet365 expanded the CFL’s presence across different provincial gaming markets. And PlayNow served as the official sports betting partner of the 111th Grey Cup through the British Columbia Lottery Corporation.
Yet as this number of partnerships grew, a particular challenge in the Canadian market became starker. The issue was that there was no single national model for regulated sports betting, with Ontario allowing multiple licensed private operators, while British Columbia operated through the provincial lottery corporation. CFL fans watching the same game may see different operator promotions depending on the province they’re in. In turn, these partners were creating a patchwork of partnerships determined by each province’s rules.
July 2025: ToonieBet Goes League-Wide
In July 2025, the CFL announced a multi-year deal with ToonieBet as its Official Sports Betting and Online Casino Partner, marking a significant departure from many of its previous partnerships. While earlier deals were often tied to an individual operator, team, or provincial market, ToonieBet’s agreement covered all nine teams and the Grey Cup and included access to official CFL data and partnerships for the Game Tracker and CFL Fantasy. And it didn’t stop there. In June 2026, ToonieBet developed an exclusive agreement with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats that featured club-level naming rights and stadium branding.
Despite this league-wide agreement, other operator and team partnerships could continue, with the exact mix varying by province.
July 2026: theScore Bet Connects With the CFL’s Digital Audience
theScore Bet followed in ToonieBet’s footsteps, signing a multi-year agreement with the CFL and becoming an Official Sports Betting and Online Casino Partner and Official Authorized Gaming Operator in Ontario and Alberta. The deal also made theScore Bet the presenting partner of the league’s mobile app. At this point, Alberta’s private iGaming market was already open to multiple operators, which meant the existing sportsbook could enter another regulated market and build its presence with Alberta sports fans.
With five of the CFL’s nine teams playing their home games in Ontario or Alberta, the partnership has a direct connection to more than half the league’s teams through the two provinces covered by the agreement. The partnership also fits naturally with theScore’s existing sports media business, as it can put its brand alongside the league’s content and digital fan experiences, rather than relying solely on traditional sponsorship branding.
What These Partnerships Mean for CFL Fans
It’s no secret that fans in regulated provinces have been encountering more betting brands around the league. But those brands capture attention precisely because they don’t all offer the same products or promotions. Each operator sets its own promotional terms, which can include fantasy contests, sportsbooks promotions, or online casino offers.
For instance, some operators might use new player $10 offers to attract casino customers in regulated markets. But being a CFL partner doesn’t mean an operator’s bonuses will necessarily be tied to CFL markets. A league partnership might provide official data or integrations with CFL digital products, but it doesn’t determine what an operator offers its customers.
Where fans live also makes a difference. Ontario and Alberta have multiple licensed operators, giving fans more exposure to choice and a wider range of betting brands and promotions. Other provinces have more restricted markets, so those fans may see a much different selection. Whatever the market, though, age restrictions and responsible gambling remain important considerations, with most provinces setting the legal gambling age at 19, except for Quebec, Manitoba, and Alberta, where it is 18.
The Road Ahead for CFL Gaming Partnerships
The CFL’s gaming partnership landscape is more varied than ever before, with a current roster that includes five operators—FanDuel, theScore Bet, bet365, PlayNow, and ToonieBet—and agreements covering different rights combinations.
These deals outline just how much Canada’s provincial regulatory system influences the CFL’s commercial relationships. Teams can have their own agreements with gaming companies, and operators may have partnerships with the league while only offering their products in certain provinces. That means no single betting partnership experience for CFL fans across the country.
Recent agreements have also shown how operators are being integrated into the digital side of the league, through the CFL app and odds integrations. Together, the growing presence of sportsbooks points to a model that’s becoming increasingly connected to how fans engage with the sport. Thanks to a more layered commercial ecosystem, fans encounter multiple operators and province-specific promotions and can participate in an increasingly mature, regulated iGaming market.