Alberta to Introduce Online Gambling Market Based on Ontario Model

Alberta’s administration is following the lead of iGaming Ontario and launching their own provincial iGaming online gambling market. Alberta would open up their market in alignment to Ontario’s 2022 launch. The numbers don’t lie when it comes to the success of commercial online gambling as it has contributed CA$2.7bn (US$1.97m) to Ontario’s GDP.

Dale Nally is Alberta’s minister of service and has confirmed that Alberta has big plans. This was week’s after Alberta legislation passed Bill 16, which makes it easier for the province to expand their gambling sector. There isn’t a timeline as to when the plan will fully roll out but Nally did confirm that expansion is happening. Right now, there’s the Play Alberta monopoly operated by Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC).

There is going to be an independent administrator delegated for the commercial market similar to what iGaming Ontario has done. This is to say it will be separate from the AGLC like Ontario separating iGaming from AGCO. Nally is also allowing First Nations in the province who have land-based casino interests to be involved in the online sector of gambling in the province. 

Bill 16 and Alberta Online Gambling

Bill 16, which recently passed legislation, is going to allow gambling to be expanded with a lot less red tape. The bill recognizes that Alberta has the authority to conduct and manage iGaming as well as AGLC. The Premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, has directed Minister Nally to explore other opportunities and grow the iGaming and sports betting sector.

Play Alberta, which was developed by NeoPollard Interactive, was launched by AGLC in 2020. The long-term partnership was formed to help grow the Play Alberta’s sportsbook. From 2022 to 2023, there was a net income of CA$1.5bn for the province from gaming activities. The model will be very much the same as Ontario, offering an open and free market.

A Deloitte report spoke about Ontario’s online gambling market and how it reached their five-year projections in their second year of operation. The contribution to the GDP was CA$2.7bn (US$1.97m) with nearly 15,000 full time jobs sustained for the province of Ontario. Needless to say that Alberta is setting themselves up in hopes of achieving the same success. The CasinoRIX company will be paying close attention to the advancements Alberta makes.