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When Alberta became the second Canadian province to launch a regulated iGaming marketplace, the message was clear: The key motivation was to protect players and draw Albertans away from the offshore, black-market sites.
When Alberta online casinos went live in mid-July, Dale Nally, the government minister overseeing the launch, said that approximately 70 percent of all money wagered by Albertans was going to offshore sites. Less than a third was going to Play Alberta, the government-administered platform which had been the only “legal” site in the province before launch day.
As of today, 30 licensed operators are taking online wagers from Albertans, and that number is expected to swell in the months to come.
But the unlicensed, offshore operators are fighting back. Aggressive ad campaigns are competing with the promotional material being put out into the world by the legal sites. They are prevalent on social media feeds, some masquerading as online game reviews when, in reality, they are advertisements.
Some examples: Magic365, based in Curaçao, has ads with a lion, a Canadian flag and slots, advertising 250 free spins.
Gravira, another slots site based in Curaçao, has ads on Instagram where it compares itself to Bet365 Casino, the international giant that is legal to play in Alberta. It claims to offer more games than its legal competitor, faster withdrawal times and customer support that’s online 24/7. It claims better player reviews and offers lucrative bonuses of “up to CA $5,000 plus 330 free spins.”
Lucky Hills, another Curaçao site, even has a .ca suffix to its web address. And it is also targeting other sites in its ad, claiming that it’s faster, has better payout times and offers better bonuses.
An unnamed online ad promises 700 free spins. First, it leads you to a German landing page where you pick three out of six treasure chests for bonus sign-up prizes. Then, it leads to Quatro Casino, an unregulated site based in the British Virgin Islands.
The thing is, if someone is scrolling and seeing these ads, it would be hard not to think that these sites are legal and registered in Alberta.
There’s one telling sign that’s missing in all the unlicensed sites’ ads. All sites that are legally registered — and that includes all advertising — must have the AIGC (Alberta iGaming Corporation) logo prominently displayed.
The thing is, Nally, who is the Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, has repeatedly warned that Alberta doesn’t have the power to shut off the internet. The regulated market was created to help steer people away from the unregulated sites. But it doesn’t have the power to block Meta from taking ad money or prevent sites from the Caribbean from advertising online. It can’t stop Albertans from logging onto offshore, unregulated sites. Creating the regulated market is all about the carrot, not the stick.
Nally is aware of pushback from unregulated site operators, and he urged Albertans to take a close look at where they spend their gambling dollars and which sites collect their personal information.
“These are predatory, illegal gambling sites that are trying to take advantage of Albertans,” Nally said. “They play by no rules, offer no protections and should be avoided at all costs.
“Albertans who choose to gamble should go to the AIGC website to see what operators are approved in our market. That way, Albertans can have confidence in knowing that the sites they are using are accountable, responsible and will actually pay you out.”
