Alberta sets stage to regulate private online gambling companies

The Alberta government is preparing to open the province's online gambling market to private companies like Bet365 in a bid to regulate more of the industry and capture revenue currently headed elsewhere. 

Up until now, the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC)-run Play Alberta was the only regulated online gambling website in Alberta. 

But players could still gamble on the so-called "grey market" — referring to offshore gambling websites like Bet365 and Bodog, that aren't officially licensed by the province but are still accessible to Alberta residents.

Proposed legislation tabled today, called the iGaming Alberta Act, would create a new Crown corporation, the Alberta iGaming Corporation, to oversee the new market and put the AGLC in charge of regulation. 

The goal is to bring more players into a legal system, add consumer protections like self-exclusion tools, and keep gambling revenue in the province rather than lose it to unregulated or offshore sites, according to Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally.

The province has said it took inspiration from a model already in place in Ontario. Ontario was the first province to allow a regulated sports betting program in 2022, allowing multiple operators to provide gambling services. 

"Albertans have said to us, why don't you do the same here? Why don't you put in place safety measures? Why don't you stop the money from leaving the province, and keep some of it in Alberta?" Nally said in an interview.

In addition to the "grey market," there's also the "black market," which Nally said includes those websites with no intention of ever becoming legal that will sometimes continue to market to players even should they indicate they have developed an addiction.

"To be clear, gambling is never safe, but you can make it safer. And that's what we're going to do," Nally said.

The Alberta government had previously passed legislation and held consultations opening the door to the possibility of regulating and overseeing iGaming activities. 

In Ontario, online gaming platforms generated $2.2 billion in total gaming revenue in the second year the market was in operation, according to iGaming Ontario's 2023-2024 annual report. 

It has also kicked off a debate in that province around whether increased levels of advertising have led to an increase in gambling addictions.

"There has been an explosion of … in our view, unregulated ads, which have led to a huge increase in gambling, sports betting and related addictions," Bruce Kidd, co-chair of the Ban Ads for Gambling campaign, told CBC Toronto earlier this month.

The province says it can set rules for how registered gambling companies advertise in Alberta, like limiting certain types of promotions. But it's a different matter for ads from companies based in other provinces or countries, especially those shown on national TV or online.