Alberta’s new iGaming market is all the rage in Canada’s online gambling scene.
By early 2026, Albertan residents should see online casino and sports betting giants like BetMGM and DraftKings making their way into the province’s regulated online gambling market. But beyond the anticipated launch window — which is yet to be confirmed — several key uncertainties remain around Alberta’s iGaming roll out.
When Will Alberta’s Regulated iGaming Market Go Live?
The timeline for launching Alberta’s iGaming market is still the biggest mystery in the province, but momentum is clearly gaining pace.
After getting Bill 48, the iGaming Alberta Act, through in May, the government has laid the groundwork for opening up to private online casino and sportsbook operators. This puts Alberta on track to follow in Ontario’s footsteps, which was the first province to launch a regulated private iGaming market way back in 2022 — a process that took years of planning and negotiations.
Dale Nally, Alberta’s Minister of Service Alberta, said in June that we could see it all launch as early as 2026, but industry voices are offering a range of different estimates. PENN Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden said he’s been told 2026 is the timeline. PointsBet is predicting a spring launch, and Super Group, the parent company of Betway, is saying the latter half of the year.
The bottom line is that 2026 looks like the most likely year, but exactly when is still anyone’s guess.
How Much Rope Will Online Sportsbooks and Online Casinos Get to Advertise?
The debate has just gotten a whole lot hotter. Since Ontario launched its own market in 2022, loads of iGaming promotional material has been flooding social media and airwaves across Canada. And that’s why lawmakers in Ottawa are reexamining the need for tighter federal rules on betting ads amid growing public concerns.
Alberta’s approach to advertising rules is still being written, and there are a few pointers as to which direction they should follow. Nally has hinted that the province might be more open to letting online betting operators get a bit more creative in their marketing, maybe even letting them use athletes to promote their brands.
“We’ve got a free market capitalist in one of us, and I’m it, so I suppose I’d support letting athletes do some advertising… but it’s not up to us to decide. Cabinet will get its say in the matter and I’m told they’ll be tabled with final rules somewhere in the fall.”
As Canada’s politicians get more and more interested in the issue of gaming ads, Alberta’s rules could set the tone for how this all shakes out in the near future.
What’s Next for Daily Fantasy, Poker, and Horse Racing in Alberta?
As Alberta gets closer to launching its regulated iGaming market, questions remain about how the province will handle daily fantasy sports (DFS), online poker, and horse racing.
Ontario’s experience is instructive. When it opened its private iGaming market in 2022, operators had to comply with strict provincial boundaries. All games had to take place within Ontario. The province also classified paid-entry fantasy contests as gambling and required providers to get an iGaming license.
That effectively shut out major fantasy operators like DraftKings and FanDuel and limited online poker player pools, hence reducing game variety and liquidity. Last year, the Ontario government asked its Court of Appeal to clarify whether it could share poker or DFS pools with jurisdictions outside Canada, such as the US. The court has yet to rule and a final decision, which may end up in the Supreme Court, won’t be ready before Alberta’s market goes live.
For now, Nally says it will be a collaborative approach.
“We’ll join Ontario in terms of liquidity and hopefully have likeminded provinces follow suit,” Nally told Covers last October, suggesting cross-provincial poker or fantasy pools could be on the table.
Horse racing is another challenge. In Ontario, the transition to a regulated market forced operators to stop unauthorized horse betting. Only pari-mutuel wagering through Woodbine Entertainment Group’s HPIbet platform is legal. Woodbine has since partnered with bet365 and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation to offer racing bets through its system.
A similar model could emerge in Alberta. HPIbet is already available to Alberta bettors, but full integration into the new provincial iGaming framework would require local stakeholders to cooperate.
“If there’s an opportunity to expand via integrating into other platforms we are very interested,” said David Vivenes, Woodbine’s executive vice president of revenue, brand and experience. “That’s not our home market so it requires different partners to come together to make that happen.”
Alberta DFS, poker, and horse racing fans, it’s all up to the regulators. The question is will it follow Ontario’s lead or go its own way?
The Latest Moves in Alberta iGaming
Online casino gaming has been available in Canada’s Sunshine province since 2020 when PlayAlberta, the only government-run site, launched. Online sports betting only became legal in 2021 after PlayAlberta added betting markets to its offerings.
Now Alberta is poised to take its iGaming to the next level. And as a way to prepare for the soon-to-launch competitive landscape, PlayAlberta has been kicking things up a notch. From revamping its logo and color scheme to launching a new, more user-friendly app, the province’s only game in town is gearing up for a new era of iGaming.
More recently, the Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis (AGLC) stepped into the rink with PlayAlberta’s new partnership deal with NHL stars, Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolfe and Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl. The new deal makes the NHL stars PlayAlberta’s safe play ambassadors. They’ll be featured on educational materials and participate in various fan engagement initiatives across the province.
Commenting on the new deal, AGLC Vice President Dan Keene said:
“Play Alberta will also have special fan meet-and-greets with Wolf and Draisaitl during the 2025-26 NHL season. The platform, which surpassed 434,000 player accounts and recorded $275 million in net sales during the 2024-25 fiscal year, sees the agreement as a way to grow both the visibility of the brand and the awareness of player safety.”
At the same time, PlayAlberta announced its multi-year partnership with CFL’s Edmonton Elks as the team’s official sports betting partner. No surprise that PlayAlberta is pulling all the stops to team up with Alberta-based athletes and teams in an effort to boost presence and promote safer play ahead of Alberta’s regulated iGaming market launch.
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