The online casino market in Canada is expanding once again. This time, the province of Alberta is set to open its online casino market, allowing international operators access and providing residents of the province with more options.

For the second time in 5 years, Canada’s online casino market is set for expansion. The province of Alberta is set to, on the 13th of July, open its online casino market to international operators. This change in regulatory stance will provide a much greater range of options for residents of Alberta and travelers passing through the province, and could have broader implications for the Canadian online casino and sportsbook market in other provinces. Alberta will be the second Canadian province to modernize it’s online casino market, following Ontario, which altered its regulation in April of 2022.

It is fair to say that the success of the Ontario online casino regulatory changes is likely to have influenced Alberta lawmakers, but it is important to state that each Canadian province is free to operate autonomously regarding how it regulates and legislates around online gambling. This means that while the regulations for online casinos in Alberta may look similar to those in Ontario, the Alberta legislators have come to their own independent conclusions about what is important for Alberta. However, it seems likely that those independent conclusions have been reached with the help of data gathered from the success of Ontario’s online casino market.

Let’s take a closer look at what the regulatory changes coming into force in Alberta are, how they are similar to Ontario’s and what this could mean for the Canadian online casino ecosystem at large.

The Regulatory Changes For Alberta

For a long time, the online gambling market in Alberta has been extremely limited. There was online a single government-owned and operated online casino platform for residents to engage with, Play Alberta, which, while it did offer online casino services to residents, did so in an archaic and not particularly modern way. It was discovered, similarly to Ontario, that many residents in the province were ignoring the legal and regulated Play Alberta platform and instead visiting unregulated offshore platforms.

The thinking of Alberta regulators is that, if the Play Alberta platform is so outmoded and outclassed by offshore operators that residents would prefer to visit those unregulated and riskier platforms, then the official platform and the regulation supporting it are clearly insufficient. As such, they passed the iGaming Alberta Act, also known as Bill 48. This has created the legal and regulatory foundation for private domestic and international online gambling entities to operate in the Alberta market.

The idea is that there is already a demand for gambling services, one which is not being sufficiently met by the previous system, and that, in order to properly protect consumers in the province, that need should be met through regulated means. Operators that wish to work in the regulated market in Alberta must meet a variety of strictures around transparency, player protection, government oversight and responsible gambling tools. The hope is that these services will be sufficiently engaging to keep residents in Alberta from straying to unsafe offshore platforms.

The Ontario System Proves Trailblazing

Anyone following the broader strokes of online gambling in Canada will see strong similarities between the approach in Alberta and that which Ontario has taken. Ontario, the first Canadian province to regulate an open online casino market with licenses for private operators, did so in mid 2022. At present, there are 44 different operators providing services in Ontario, all of which must follow a set of regulations pertaining to advertising, player protections and responsible gambling in order to avoid fines and to continue their operations in the province.

The Alberta regulatory market, while not directly following in the footsteps of Ontario, is taking a very similar approach. Operators will be free to acquire licenses and offer their services in the province, as long as they abide by the regulatory environment and oversight from the provincial regulators. In Alberta, this is the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) as the regulator, and the Alberta iGaming Corporation for broader oversight of the market structure.

It should be noted that the model that is used in Ontario was not wholly pioneered there, and is a reflection of many of the more mature and successful online gambling markets in the world. The key unifier that can be said to link both Alberta, Ontario and other modern online gambling markets is that they have a strong focus on player protections.

Player Protection is the Name of the Game

For both Ontario and Alberta, the key concern in amending their regulatory environments has always been the increase in the protections that consumers and players of online gambling services receive in their respective provinces.

These protections include self-exclusion tools and other responsible gambling initiatives, and operators will be held to a high standard or face heavy fines and restrictions on their services. The stated goal for Alberta is not to gain increased tax revenue, although that is an acknowledged aim of bringing consumers away from offshore operators; it is to ensure that players are afforded the best protection they can be within a regulated framework.

What Are the Broader Ramifications for Canada?

At present, there are no broader ramifications for Canada associated with Alberta’s changing regulations. Other provinces seem content to monitor the situation in both Ontario and Alberta. However, it could be theorized that as these systems see success, both from revenue reclaimed from offshore operators, and an increase in player protection, that other provinces might seek to walk a similar path.

However, each province in Canada has the power to make its own autonomous decisions about how it regulates online gambling activities. While the idea of provinces having an increase in their revenue to pursue public works is attractive, it is likely that even if other provinces take similar paths, they will do so in their own way and at their own pace.

Final Thoughts

The upcoming launch of a new regulated online gambling market in Alberta will double the number of provinces in Canada that have markets of this type, and will give the approximately 5 million residents of Alberta safer and more interesting options for online gambling. 

Whether other Canadian provinces will follow suit remains to be seen, but if the Alberta market sees as much success as the Ontario one, regulators in other provinces will have more evidence indicating that it could be successful for them as well.