Regulated Alberta Online Casinos Will Launch On July 13
Alberta is set to open its online gambling market to private-sector competition on July 13, becoming only the second province after Ontario to break from the Canadian tradition of government-run monopoly platforms for sports betting and online casinos.
Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally confirmed the Alberta launch date in a letter to industry stakeholders on March 30.
“The launch of a regulated iGaming market is an exciting chapter for our province, and I am confident that we can work together to build a market that is both competitive and socially responsible,” read the note.
70% of online betting in the province is unregulated
Albertans are already gambling online in huge numbers, just not legally. The province estimates that about 70% of online casino and sports betting happens on unregulated offshore platforms.
These sites contribute nothing to the provincial tax coffers, answer to no local regulator, and offer players zero protection if something goes wrong. Two agencies will regulate the sector: Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) and the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC), a Crown entity created by provincial legislation just last year.
Alberta already has a well-established gambling landscape regulated by the AGLC, including 19 casinos, five First Nations casinos, four racing entertainment centers, video lottery terminals in bars and restaurants, lottery and scratch ticket sales, licensed charitable gaming such as raffles and bingo, and the government run PlayAlberta website, which is currently the province’s only regulated online platform for sports betting and casino games.
Big names are lining up
Major operators that have shown interest in entering the expanded Alberta market include BetMGM, BetRivers, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Penn Entertainment, with discussion of their Alberta plans during recent quarterly earnings calls.
FanDuel indicated plans to spend around $70 million getting up and running, while Penn has budgeted between $15 million and $20 million. Caesars confirmed it will bring not just its combined sportsbook and online casino but also its standalone Caesars Palace and Horseshoe online casino brands, meaning three separate platforms from a single company.
Getting licensed isn’t simple. Operators must navigate a two-track process, starting with the AGLC and then completing a separate commercial agreement with the AiGC. The AGLC side alone involves three stages: a due diligence review covering eligibility and background checks, a compliance assessment against the province’s operational standards, and mandatory integration with Alberta’s centralized self-exclusion system, a tool that lets players ban themselves from all online gambling sites, land based casinos and racetracks in one step.
Suppliers providing technology to operators must also register with the AGLC and have their platforms certified by an accredited testing facility.
A consumer safety play
Nally framed the expansion of online gambling as a consumer safety issue via an official statement and social media.
“Our goal is not to create new gamblers, but to make existing online gambling safer,” Nally said. “As the gaming industry continues to evolve globally and in Alberta, it is important that we modernize Alberta’s approach to gaming to protect the health and safety of Albertans, particularly our youth.
“The legislation we are introducing, if approved, would take the first steps towards this.”
