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EDMONTON, Alberta — Alberta has officially become the second Canadian province to have its own regulated iGaming market.
Dale Nally, the provincial minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, announced Monday that 22 operators had sites up and running.
All legally registered sites must bear the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AIGC) logo on their web pages, social media, and advertising.
Speaking at an event at the Royal Glenora Club in Edmonton, celebrating the launch of Alberta online casinos and sportsbooks, Nally said:
“This marks an important step forward for our province and reflects nearly two years of work to build a market founded on strong player protections and social responsibility. From the very beginning, our focus has been clear: protect Albertans, especially young people, and ensure that those who choose to gamble online can do so in a responsible environment. Today, Albertans have a responsible legal alternative where operators are held to high standards of conduct and accountability, and where player protection comes first.”
The Alberta government will take 20 per cent of revenue, and that’s expected to be in the ballpark of $76 million CAD this year. Two per cent will go to First Nations.
RELATED: Alberta Online Casinos Are Live: What You Need to Know
Why Alberta Made the Move
Nally said adding a revenue stream wasn’t the reason the government decided to create a legal iGaming marketplace. He said the government has long recognized that millions upon millions were being bet on offshore, unregulated sites every year. There were no rules governing these platforms: they could entice players back with promises of bonuses; there was no regulated dispute mechanism; there was no protection of minors from these sites.
The age of majority in Alberta is 18.
“We made this change because we knew that Albertans were gambling,” said Nally.
“And I’m going to be frank. Some of these sites are quite repugnant, and I’ve heard stories about people who have attempted to quit these sites – unfortunately, once you sign onto them, they continue to send you reload bonuses. So, for someone who’s struggling with problematic gambling behaviours, this is unacceptable. So, we’re putting in player safety and responsibility standards so that anyone who wants to quit can, and they will also have access to the gold standard of treatment for people with problematic gambling behaviours – and that is intensive outpatient-based therapy.”
Player Protections Built Into the New Rules
Dan Keene, the CEO of AIGC, said that the protection of players is first and foremost. All registered applicants had to complete an internationally accredited course on safe, responsible gaming, based on nine standards and 48 different criteria.
“Social responsibility was often an afterthought, and revenues flowed out of our province,” said Keene. “Today, all that changes. Albertans have access to a regulated, accountable online gambling environment that puts player health and safety first. Albertans deserve a regulated iGaming market that plays by the rules and maintains the highest standards of integrity and security.”
All operators must tie into a central self-exclusion program (selfexclusion.ca) and provide links on their sites to it. They must also prominently display that help for problem gambling is available through the province’s 211 help line.
What’s Next
More than 50 operators have already been approved, so expect additional sites to go live in the weeks ahead — operators can launch whenever they’re ready, with no set schedule or rollout cap dictating when.
The bigger test comes next: enforcement. Alberta now has to show it can steer players away from unlicensed offshore sites and toward the regulated market, and that the self-exclusion program and 211 referrals reduce harm rather than just check a box.
The $76 million CAD revenue estimate is also just a projection. How it holds up over the next fiscal year will influence whether other provinces watching Alberta’s rollout move faster on their own regulated iGaming markets.
