Alberta lawmakers passed the iGaming Act on its third reading with no amendments on Wednesday. The bill proposes to expand Alberta’s legal betting industry, which currently is limited to one sports betting app, PlayAlberta.
Service Alberta Minister Dave Nally’s Bill 48 now just needs the seal of approval of Lieutenant Governor Salma Lakhani to become legal. It is expected that Lakhani will give her approval.
On his proposal, Nally commented, “This is about bringing order to a growing market, collecting revenue, and giving Albertans a safer, more responsible way to play.”
Alberta to open up to gambling companies
The bill will see the Canadian province set up the Alberta iGaming Corporation to regulate, license, and oversee the operations of iGaming. This opens the market for private gambling platforms to apply for licenses, with a likely launch date of early 2026.
Flutter CEO Peter Jackson confirmed that FanDuel plans to enter the Alberta market next year. Other leading sports betting sites will be expected to follow as they have done in Ontario since it took a similar step in 2022.
Ontario now has 49 registered operators offering 84 gaming websites under the regulation of iGaming Ontario (iGO). It has set a precedent for other provinces to follow.
The Canadian Gaming Association commented that, “Ontario’s model has proven that a regulated iGaming market can be competitive, profitable, and safe.”
Since launching in 2022, gambling companies in Ontario have generated over CAD $2.4 billion in gross gaming revenue, contributing tax revenue of CAD $490 million.
The province has a tax rate of 20%, and Alberta is expected to follow with a similar levy. Supporters of the bill expect it will bring in potential annual tax revenue of between $50M–$100M once fully operational.
Shutting down the gray market
Officially, only PlayAlberta offers legal gambling in Alberta at the moment, however, many other operators are active in the gray market. Stake, for example, offers online casino gambling in Canada, and many take advantage of this, including the company’s ambassador Drake, who regularly hosts live betting streams on Kick.
Stake is not officially licensed in Ontario, but the company plans to launch a dedicated site, Stake.ca, this year and register with iGO. The company will likely do the same in Alberta now as well.
Since changing its gambling industry, Ontario has seen a big shift away from unregulated operators. Before the legislation, around 70% of gambling was on unlicensed sites, but that figure fell to 13.6% last year.
Alberta will expect a similar shift when iGaming opens up next year.
Adam is an experienced writer with years of experience in the gambling industry. He has worked as a content writer and editor for five years on sites such as Oddschecker, CoinTelegraph and Gambling Industry News, bringing excellent knowledge of the world of sports betting and online gambling. Adam focuses on emerging stories in the ever changing landscape of betting in the US. Read the latest on prediction markets, changing legislation, and sweepstakes.
