Alberta Making Progress Toward Ontario-Like Online Sports Betting, IGaming Market

Alberta is putting the pieces in location to establish its own Ontario-like system for online sports wagering and internet gambling establishment gaming.


The Western Canadian province would be the very first to follow Ontario's example, and it could do so by next year, according to some in the gambling industry. Bruce Caughill, managing director for Canada at BetRivers, had this to say throughout a panel at last week's SBC Summit The United States and Canada conference in New Jersey.


It's been interesting to see it unfold, since there is a desire in the Alberta government to make this take place yesterday, however I believe they're starting to comprehend that to make things occur even quickly spends some time.


Laying a legislative foundation


Caughill noted legislation was tabled last month in Alberta that might enable the provincial government to produce a different entity to "conduct and manage" online betting. That entity would be in addition to the provincially owned Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis Commission, or AGLC.


AGLC is currently the only authorized iGaming operator in Alberta through its Play Alberta platform. If Alberta were to adopt an Ontario-like system, though, AGLC could be simply one of many regulated operators in the province, which has a population size similar to that of Kentucky and Oregon. Ontario developed an "conduct and handle" agency of its own, iGaming Ontario, before introducing its competitive market for online betting.


Bill 16, the legislation consisting of the new powers to "conduct and handle," the legal term for controlling betting in Canada, was passed by a committee of the whole in the Alberta legislature on Tuesday.


Caughill said he anticipates provincial legislators to approve it "quickly," which would put 2025 in play for a launch of a competitive iGaming market in the province.


Secondly, there appears to be every sign that they're simply going to white label the Ontario licensing regime. That's sort of the hope that you can transition right into that design if you're already in Ontario.


Confidence from the courts


Ontario's iGaming market released in April 2022 and now includes almost 50 operators, consisting of the provincial lottery, in addition to more than 1.3 million active player accounts. The regulative structure was also reinforced this week by an Ontario court dismissing a legal obstacle of the province's online gambling scheme.