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Alberta is transitioning from its current system of a single, legal, government-operated iGaming site, PlayAlberta, to a regulated market that welcomes online sportsbooks and casinos. The transition is expected to impact PlayAlberta as much as private online gaming sites. However, the question remains: what does the regulated iGaming market mean for PlayAlberta?
We looked at the numbers from Ontario’s OLG.ca to find out. In 2022, Ontario transitioned from an Alberta-style province-backed sole iGaming site to welcome private online gaming sites, and the move had wide-ranging effects on OLG.ca’s revenue and market share. Here’s how, and by how much, the Ontario transition affected OLG.ca, and what this might mean for PlayAlberta.
The OLG.ca Paradox: How PlayAlberta Could Increase Revenue but Lose Market Share
Ontario’s government-run online gaming platform, OLG.ca, closely mirrors PlayAlberta. Both are provincially owned, offer similar casino and sportsbook products, and operate alongside private gaming sites following the launch of a regulated iGaming market. As a result, Ontario’s experience with OLG.ca offers a useful preview of how PlayAlberta will be affected by the launch of additional Alberta online casinos and sportsbooks.
The effect of the transition on OLG.ca was two-sided. On the one hand, the online gaming site experienced an immediate and sustained boost in pure revenue, growing from $511 million in the 2021-22 fiscal year to $669 million in the 2022-23 fiscal year. OLG.ca’s growth represents an unprecedented 31% growth, against predictions of revenue cannibalization by private iGaming sites.
The site’s revenue continued to grow, with OLG.ca also recording double-digit revenue growth in the fiscal years 2024-25 and 2025-26. This data clearly shows that the decision to regulate private iGaming sites only opened up the market, enlarging the revenue pie of which OLG.ca already owns a substantial slice.
Interestingly, OLG.ca’s market share fell sharply during and after the shift, which was unsurprising in the first year, as the government-operated site represents 100% of the legal iGaming market before the shift. However, market share continued to fall in subsequent years, despite OLG.ca recording double-digit revenue growth years after the transition.
The OLG.ca situation is a cautionary tale for PlayAlberta, as it shows how a government-backed online gaming site could grow in pure revenue numbers but lose market share post-transition.
What Will the Regulated iGaming Mean for PlayAlberta?
With the PlayAlberta situation being a carbon copy of Ontario’s shift to a regulated iGaming market, we can expect the regulated iGaming market launch to immediately expand the iGaming market in Alberta, bringing in more players and increasing the total amount Albertans spend on online gaming activities.
Some of these new players will naturally gravitate toward the government-backed and operated option that is PlayAlberta, but the vast majority are expected to sign up on the newly registered online casinos and sportsbooks to launch with the new, regulated iGaming market.
The result is an interesting paradox, where PlayAlberta may achieve record revenue numbers, but lose market share. With the similarities between the PlayAlberta and OLG.ca situations, we can expect the impact of Alberta’s upcoming iGaming launch on PlayAlberta to mirror that of OLG.ca’s in Ontario.
How PlayAlberta Could Position Against iGaming Giants
The Ontario model is one of the most important models informing Alberta’s current iGaming transition, and PlayAlberta is expected to replicate some of OLG.ca’s strategies to retain market share and grow revenue both during and after the shift.
For one, PlayAlberta is expected to increase its advertising efforts following the launch, inspiring trust by focusing on its unique selling point as being the only government-owned and operated market option. We also expect new product launches on PlayAlberta, similar to OLG.ca’s launch of a live casino section during Ontario’s transition to a regulated iGaming market.
Generally, PlayAlberta wouldn’t worry much about the upcoming iGaming launch in Alberta. It will surely lose a substantial chunk of the legal iGaming market, as it currently holds 100%, but it is not losing players to private online gaming sites in the real sense; the new entrants are only poaching players who would otherwise be on gray market sites anyway.
