Alberta’s government is looking to regulate private online gambling websites and apps in a move it says will capture lost revenue and protect bettors.
If passed, new legislation ā Bill 48: the iGaming Alberta Act ā tabled Wednesday by Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally will see the province create a new Crown corporation called Alberta iGaming Corporation to set rules for online casinos and safeguards for users.
Nally told reporters Wednesday that exactly what those rules and safeguards will be still needs to be determined, but the government’s goal isn’t to make online gambling more accessible.
Instead, he said the goal is rein in an ever-growing industry that, without regulation, will only pose more and more risk to consumers as it grows.
āThe reality is that online gambling is alive and well in this province,ā he said. āLet’s suppose this legislation doesn’t pass; that won’t stop online gambling from continuing to grow.ā
Nally estimated the government-owned Play Alberta website — the only regulated online gambling option currently available in the province ā takes in less than half of the overall online gambling market. The rest goes to sites run by offshore companies, such as Bet365, that Albertans are still able to access but that donāt pay fees into government coffers.
āIf we can capture those revenues and we can repatriate some of those dollars back into Alberta we’ll have the funds to be able to help and support Albertans,ā he said, adding that it’s unclear just how much revenue the government is losing to unregulated companies every year.
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According to the province’s gambling regulator, Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis, $5.3 billion in wagers were made on the Play Alberta site in the 2023-2024 fiscal year covering casino games, sports betting and more.
AGLC’s latest annual report says the $5.3 billion in bets equalled a 21 per cent increase compared with the year before and $235 million in government revenue.
That same report also says Play Alberta saw a 27.5 per cent increase in user sign-ups in 2023-2024 āindicating continued growth and interest in legal online gambling.ā
While thereās no guarantee that every offshore company will register with the province once the regulations are finalized, Nally pointed to Ontarioās model over the past three years and said many operators want to be regulated.
āIt’s a simple case of ‘If you build it they will comeā and we know this because they told us that,ā Nally said.
“We know that there are responsible operators that want to be part of a safer, more responsible gambling ecosystem, and we know that there’s illicit operators that don’t want to.”
In 2022 Ontario became the first Canadian province to regulate online casinos. Ontarioās online gambling regulator, iGaming Ontario, reported that more than 40 companies registered to operate under provincial oversight and more than $35 billion in bets were made in the first year.
Gurinder Brar, the Opposition NDP Service Alberta critic, said time will tell if Alberta’s attempt to corral the online gambling sector will be successful, as the actual rules and regulations companies will need to follow haven’t been determined yet.
Brar also said the United Conservative government will need to ensure additional tools and resources are in place to support those with gambling addictions.
Nally did say that one safeguard that will be implemented is a voluntary self-exclusion program — which already exists for physical casinos — that gamblers can enrol in to bar themselves from gambling online.
He also said the province could bring in its own rules for advertising, but noted that such rules are the federal government’s responsibility.
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