Alberta is regulated iGaming system is now open, starting the race for private sports betting companies and online casinos to stake their stake in the provincial gambling market.
This makes Alberta the second province to officially open its doors to privateers online gambling operators, behind Ontario.
Nearly 50 companies have paid $200,000 in registration and permit fees leading up to Monday’s launch, but Alberta Service Minister Dale Nally said he thinks about 20 are ready for customers.
A spokesman for the provincial gambling regulator, the Alberta Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Commission, or AGLC, said it was “all systems go” as of midnight.
The new system stems from legislation passed last year by Premier Danielle Smith’s government. Nally, who oversees the AGLC, has said the goal is to protect online bettors in the province.
Before Monday, online gamblers in Alberta either took advantage of government-owned PlayAlberta or risked offshore sites without consumer protections.
Alberta’s new system appears to have had an impact already.
An online platform based in Estonia – Coolbet – announced earlier this month that it was pulling out of Alberta as a result of its regulations.
“We know that while gambling will never be safe, people will be safer in the regulated space,” Nally said in a recent interview.
Alberta will also collect some of the revenue it was missing from residents placing unregulated or gray market bets. The new system is for Alberta to collect 20 percent of each company’s revenue.
The government is anticipating a $76 million boost to provincial coffers in the first year, Nally said, although the regulatory system is “not about money.”
“It never was,” he said. “This is about putting player safety and player responsibility first.”
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Alberta’s self-exclusion program for brick-and-mortar casinos, which allows people to essentially ban themselves from gambling, also applies to online operators. Companies are required to allow Albertans to set their own time or betting limits.
Nally said one percent of gross online gambling revenue would be set aside to be spent on problem gambling programs, resources and treatment.
Two percent will be earmarked for First Nations. Nally said how those funds would be distributed is still being determined.
Ontario has allowed residents to use online casinos and sportsbooks since 2022. Every year since then, iGaming Ontario, the provincial regulator, has reported significant increases in overall wagering, revenue and active accounts.
Ontario has also seen significant increases in the number of people seeking help for gambling.
A University of Toronto study in March suggested the rate of men under the age of 24 calling Ontario’s gambling helpline increased by more than 300 per cent from 2022.
It also found that the number of active online accounts per 100,000 people rose 239 percent in the first three years, to about 7,300 from 2,160.
Nally said Alberta will likely see the same.
But he said Ontario’s numbers could be explained by higher public awareness of gambling addiction and the resources available.
“Those problem gambling behaviors didn’t start the day the (Ontario) market started,” he said. “They existed before, but there wasn’t as much awareness.”
For non-gambling Albertans, Nally said Monday’s rollout may simply mean they start seeing more online betting ads and commercials, on top of the Ontario-market ones that have been showing up for Alberta audiences for some time.
“I think it will be more of the status quo. Maybe a few more billboards,” Nally said.
One expert said the flood of ads already could mean Alberta has seen the brunt of online gambling.
“I expect there might be a small increase in helpline calls and maybe a small increase in problem gambling. But I don’t think it will be as significant as we saw in Ontario,” said Robert Williams, a professor with the University of Lethbridge’s addiction and mental health program.
The clinical psychologist and member of the Alberta Gambling Research Institute said he doesn’t expect much money to stay in the province because many online operations are multinational companies.
“It’s an economic vacuum in the province,” Williams said.
“It’s not like creating a casino where you have a huge economic footprint by building it with all local supplies, employing local people … you leave a lot of money in the jurisdiction.
“With an online website that you’re just importing to another country, there’s very little overhead, except for your competitive advertising.”
Some operators are starting in Alberta with charitable donations.
FanDuel, a major online sportsbook based in the United States, said in a press release last week that it will donate $30,000 to the Canadian Red Cross in Alberta and $50,000 to the Dollar A Day Foundation to support mental health resources.
“As we plan to enter this new market, we are committed to providing a best-in-class entertainment experience and meaningful community engagement remains at the heart of everything we do,” said Dale Hooper, general manager with FanDuel Canada.
DraftKings, another US-based online casino and sportsbook operator, said it would give $150,000 to Food Banks Alberta on Tuesday and that employees would volunteer some hours.
River Cree Resort and Casino, west of Edmonton, said it won’t be ready to offer online gambling until later this year.
Vik Mahajan, the resort’s chief executive, said it’s possible that online betting will take some business away from brick-and-mortar casinos, but he also sees it as an opportunity for growth.
“If there is an iGaming market opening up, we need to be part of it.”
