Digital entertainment is big business across the developed world, and Ontario’s prominence in the Canadian economy is in part fuelled by its involvement in this sector. A lot of this growth comes down to the fact that companies know consumers have had their attention monopolized by screens, both in the living room and on the move. So, which industries in particular are thriving in the province at the moment?

Esports

Gaming in general is big business in Ontario, but the province's relationship with competitive esports in particular deserves note. The Ontario Chamber of Commerce points out that media companies in this industry generate $1.7 billion in revenue for Toronto alone each year, while $500 million was spent on the creation of an in-person esports arena in the city, bringing with it a ripple effect of economic growth. In addition to serving audiences around the world via streaming, the location-specific nature of esports in the province is capturing consumer attention in a fairly unique way.

iGaming

Pushing ahead with commercially licensed online gambling before any of its counterparts put the province on track to reap the rewards of strong market growth in this industry, netting billions in tax dollars in the few short years since. Last year alone, sites like this online casino in Ontario, Canada helped create $3.2 billion in gross revenue, and monthly revenues now regularly top $400 million, suggesting this year will be even better for the industry.

Growth in iGaming uptake has also been key, since without consumer support, the industry would not have got the strong start that it needed to blossom. This industry’s growth helped Ontario eliminate the grey market of online casinos that existed previously, because many locals were already having their attention monopolized by overseas betting platforms that didn’t pay any taxes in the province.

Film Production

Ontario has been at the heart of the growth of Canada’s film industry, with specialist studio spaces and VFX studios cropping up across the province, enticing more and more American investment, especially from streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon. This is important both for the economy and for the skills that are being built and rewarded locally, making the creative workforce larger and more resilient. In turn, it means that more homegrown film and TV projects can be greenlit without the need to outsource elements of the production.

The growth of digital entertainment industries in Ontario has both an economic and social impact, since more tax dollars and more jobs are good for the province’s financial standing, and more people being bought into locally produced content and experiences, whatever form they take, is habit-forming and self-perpetuating. Since there’s also a battle for the attention of modern audiences going on throughout the day, and in every context, given the rise of second-screen culture fuelled by smartphone ownership, the province’s success as a producer of multimedia and culture should not be understated. Even the threat of AI to these industries is minimized when there’s such a strong base in place.