888 has launched Alberta’s first regulated online poker platform, becoming the only operator currently offering the product under the province’s new licensing system. The locally licensed 888 Alberta client went live Oct. 13 with Hold’em and Omaha cash games, guaranteed tournaments and other poker formats.
Players must download new software and create new accounts for the Alberta service. Pokerfuse reported that the platform is confined to an Alberta-only pool, meaning its customers cannot play at the same tables as users on 888’s Ontario platform or international network.
An 888 spokesperson said Alberta customers were moved to the separated pool under the province’s regulations. The arrangement leaves the operator running a standalone poker network in a province with a population of about five million.
Alberta opened its regulated online gambling market July 13, but online poker was absent at launch because of the segregated-pool requirement. As this publication reported in July, the vertical had remained empty while casino and sportsbook operators entered the market. Existing operators were permitted to continue serving customers during a three-month transition period if they met the applicable requirements, but from Oct. 13 they had to operate locally licensed Alberta platforms or leave the market.
PokerStars told Alberta players it would exit the market on Oct. 13, while 888 had said it would return under a local licence. Operators in Alberta must obtain a licence from the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis regulator.
The launch reverses 888’s earlier public caution about entering Alberta without shared liquidity. The company had said an Alberta rollout would depend on licensing, technical readiness and the final rules for poker liquidity, and had described a combined Alberta-Ontario pool as the preferred outcome for players and the poker ecosystem.
No Alberta-Ontario liquidity-sharing agreement had been publicly announced by the launch. Alberta officials had been working on a memorandum of understanding with Ontario, while the Supreme Court has heard a case concerning whether the provinces can resume sharing poker liquidity with international players. A final ruling could take months.
888’s opening-night tournament programme included turbo, Mystery Bounty and knockout events. Its initial Sunday schedule lists a C$1 Sunday Micro PKO with a C$250 guarantee and a C$22 Mystery Bounty Main Event carrying a C$4,000 guarantee. The company had not announced dedicated launch promotions or a launch-week tournament series.
GGPoker had registered with Alberta regulators but had not stated its poker plans. BetMGM, which launched casino and sports betting products in Alberta in July and already operates poker in Ontario, had not launched an Alberta poker room.
