Stake has received Alberta licence approval and plans to launch its online casino and sportsbook in the province on Oct. 12, provided it completes a commercial operating agreement with the Alberta iGaming Corporation.
The Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission approval clears a key regulatory hurdle, but the AiGC agreement remains necessary before Stake Canada can accept wagers. The Crown corporation holds operators’ commercial contracts and administers the province’s revenue arrangements.
As we reported on Oct. 6, Stake’s conditional registration still left it unable to take bets until that commercial agreement was in place.
The target date would put Stake’s regulated debut one day before Oct. 13, when Alberta’s transition period for previously unregulated operators ends. Operators active before the regulated market opened on July 13 were given a case-by-case, 90-day window to register, pay applicable fees and taxes, or leave the province.
There is a discrepancy over the precise launch day. Win.gg reported that Stake co-founder Eddie Craven had announced an Oct. 11 go-live, while RG.org and Gaming Intelligence said the company expected to become operational on Oct. 12, conditional on the AiGC contract. Stake’s planned initial Alberta product excludes poker and daily fantasy sports.
The entry would be Stake’s first licensed Canadian market. Stake Canada was added to the AGLC registry as an iGaming operator in late September, and the company also has a pending application in Ontario, where its Canadian website lists the market as coming soon.
Stake said Alberta offered a significant opportunity to reach an established sports and gaming audience, and said its platform would include responsible-gaming and player-protection measures. The operator, owned by Easygo and launched in 2017, already operates in regulated markets including Italy, Denmark, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Argentina.
The move comes as Alberta’s regulated market expands ahead of the deadline. As of Oct. 8, the AGLC listed 41 licensed iGaming operators and 39 active sites accepting wagers. Provincial officials have said they will pursue unlicensed sites after the transition period, using measures that could include cease-and-desist letters, action against payment processors, and pressure on digital platforms over gambling apps and advertising.
Stake has been estimated to account for 31% of Canada’s national gray-market online gambling sector. Under Alberta’s model, operators retain 80% of net iGaming revenue and the government receives 20%, after a 3% gross-revenue deduction for First Nations initiatives and social-responsibility funding.
