Regulated online casinos like DraftKings and BetMGM won’t be coming to Alberta this year.
Alberta is now looking at launching its market in the first three months of 2026, after originally expecting to be ready in the second half of 2025. When it does open, the new provincial market will follow the model established by Ontario in 2022. Alberta will become the first other province to do so.
Word of the new timeline came from Paul Burns, head of the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) while speaking at the iGaming NEXT conference in New York City. The news was first reported on X by gambling journalist Geoff Zochodne, in attendance at the conference.
The CGA is a trade organization representing commercial gaming in Canada.
Currently, the only gambling site officially sanctioned by the province is the lottery-operated PlayAlberta. However, like all nine provinces other than Ontario, Alberta has access to a wide range of offshore casinos, including many of the same brands that hold licenses in Ontario and the US, like bet365 and Jackpot City.
That will change once the Alberta market officially opens. Unlike the US, Canadian law doesn’t forbid online gambling, only unlicensed gambling taking place on Canadian soil. It’s only when a province like Ontario creates its own policies that offshore operators need to exit.
However, US-based online casinos have chosen to forego unregulated activities, which means the likes of Caesars Palace and BetRivers aren’t available outside of Ontario at present. Those American companies are likely waiting impatiently for their chance to serve Alberta’s population of 4.3 million, but they’ll have to wait a little longer. In light of Donald Trump’s aggressive trade policies, the province has also stopped importing American video lottery terminals and other gaming equipment.
Alberta to adopt the ‘Ontario Model’
Canadian federal law requires that all gambling on Canadian soil be ‘conducted and managed’ by provincial lottery corporations. The three most populous provinces have individual lottery corporations, while the other seven have banded together to form two regional lotteries.
- British Columbia Lottery Corporation
- Ontario Lottery Corporation
- Loto-Québec
- Atlantic Lottery Corporation (NB, NL, NS, and PEI)
- Western Canada Lottery Corporation (AB, MB, and SK, also serving the territories)
Over the years, these have gradually expanded their offerings to include more than just traditional lottery games. Many provinces now have brick-and-mortar casinos, for instance. The lottery “conducts and manages” the casino operations by owning the physical property.
Quebec is unique in also operating the games itself. Other provinces, including both Ontario and Alberta, work with private companies like Great Canadian Gaming to provide gaming services.
Ontario has duplicated that model for its online gambling market. In addition to one gaming site operated directly by the lottery, it now has a “conduct and manage” body called iGaming Ontario that works with private sector operators.
There was initially some legal confusion around what “conducting and managing” actually means when there is no physical property and the operator partners own the servers. However, Canadian courts have sided with Ontario, paving the way for other provinces like Alberta to follow suit.
Based on its pro-privatization political climate, Alberta was always the most likely province to follow Ontario. Others may also follow. There is a big effort by the industry to push Quebec in that direction, but the local politics there present much more of an uphill battle.
About the Author
