Alberta lawmakers are still consulting with indigenous partners and stakeholders about Alberta’s forthcoming iGaming strategy. Meanwhile, industry groups, alongside private gambling companies, have devoted themselves to a year-long lobbying campaign to sway Alberta’s internet gaming and sports betting policies in their favor.
Expected to launch early next year, Alberta’s open iGaming market is imminent. Since Bill 48, Alberta’s iGaming Act, received Royal Assent back in May, lawmakers have been busy working towards developing a reliable framework for its private, regulated online gambling market.
But according to research from the Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF), many stakeholders have enlisted the services of consultants with close ties to the United Conservative Party (UCP) government.
“We are taking the next step toward establishing a private, regulated online gaming market in Alberta by further engaging with Indigenous partners and stakeholders on Alberta’s iGaming strategy, including the development of regulations related to social responsibility and consumer protection,” Brandon Aboultaif, press secretary to Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction said in an email to IJF.
Inside Alberta’s Tangled Web of Influence as iGaming Talks Heat Up
From provincial records, more than 20 gambling companies have registered to provide insights to various government institutions involved in developing iGaming legislation in the Wild Rose Country.
From bigshot iGaming brands like Bally’s Corp, BetMGM, and Caesar’s Entertainment to major Canadian companies like Score Media & Gaming as well as Stars Group, all have sought meetings with Alberta government officials. The goal? To guide, inform, and educate them on market frameworks and online gambling/betting regulations.
A look at lobbying filings reveals that a heap more of registered industry lobbyists are old hands from the UCP or former Alberta government employees. Some are people who used to work on the UCP’s campaign, while others were communications and advisory types inside government and then went on to represent casino and betting clients for firms like Wellington Advocacy.
It’s a bit surprising to see several of those old UCP aides and campaign directors now push for policies on behalf of private gambling firms and industry firms. For example, the Canadian Online Gaming Association hired Pierçon Knezic, the Endgame Strategies lobbyist who also worked as the UCP deputy campaign manager in the 2023 elections.
Likewise, Wellington Advocacy recruited a wealth of ex-government officials for some of its clients, including Caesar’s Digital and Pure Canadian Gaming. Names like Ethan Lecavalier-Kidney, former policy adviser to Alberta’s finance minister, Lucas Robertson, who served with the UCP caucus, the minister of health’s office and the UCP caucus whip’s office, Ashley Wilde, former UCP director of operations, and even Nick Koolsbergen, Kenney’s chief of staff and campaign director, among others, are just a few of the former government staff enlisted to represent these firms.
Aboultaif didn’t confirm which companies the minister, Nally, has met with. Instead, he reassured IJF that the minister and department are just meeting with anyone and everyone who is interested in talking about the market launch as they go about figuring things out.
But one thing is for sure: the swarm of meetings and all those old government hands now lobbying on the sector are only going to make the debate around who gets access, who gets to set policy, and what path Alberta chooses for online betting, a whole lot more heated.
Gambling Picture in Alberta
Alberta’s gambling industry is at a fork in the road as the province decides the future of its online betting market. Across North America, online and single-event sports betting has changed the gambling landscape since the US lifted its ban in 2018 and Canada followed in 2021. That opened the door for provinces to regulate digital wagering, but Alberta has been slow to take the leap.
Industry insiders say lobbying for privately operated online casinos and sportsbooks in Canada has been going on for more than a decade.
“From 2011 to 2021, there was clearly a consistent push to bring single-event betting into Canada,” says Renze Nauta, program director for work and economics at the Cardus.
The push was driven in part by the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA), which estimated Canadians were spending around $14 billion a year through unregulated channels, $10 billion on illegal sports betting and another $4 billion on offshore sites. Those numbers have been repeated by lawmakers as evidence of untapped tax revenue, a key argument for expanding regulated markets across provinces, including Alberta.
Lobbying records in Alberta tell the same story. Submissions from companies like Pure Canadian Gaming, The Stars Group and Century Mile Racetrack & Casino highlight the economic benefits of a regulated gambling sector. They argue not only for safer, more transparent gaming environments, but also new revenue for the province through taxation and tourism.
For now, it’s still a wait-and-see situation in Alberta, but clearly, with the passing of Bill 48, the wait won’t be long before the province launches its iGaming market. With the pressure on to get a framework in place, it seems inevitable Albertans gambling future is about to get a whole lot more interesting, not to mention offer a whole lot more gambling choices.
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