Alberta’s three-month transition window for online gambling operators ended Oct. 13 with about 29 operators and 50 brands approved for the province’s regulated market. Sites that had not completed the transition, including those still awaiting approval, were required to stop operating in Alberta.
Gaming News Canada reported that the approvals came from the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis, or AGLC, and the Alberta iGaming Corporation, known as AiGC. Only registered iGaming sites may operate after the deadline, while AGLC is to monitor compliance and pursue enforcement against operators that continue serving Albertans without authorization.
The deadline applied to companies that had already been accepting bets in the province. To participate, operators must register with AGLC and sign an operating agreement with government-owned AiGC. An operator whose launch date falls after Oct. 13 must halt all unregulated-market activity until it goes live.
As we reported in July, Alberta opened its competitive online sports betting and internet casino market on July 13. The launch moved the province from one authorized operator, Play Alberta, to more than 20, while giving existing unregulated operators a three-month period to join the new system or leave.
The market was designed to shift gambling activity from unregulated grey and black-market websites and applications to provincially supervised services. Before the launch, officials estimated that unregulated sites held about 70% of Alberta’s online gambling market.
Consumers can identify registered sites through the AiGC logo, which indicates that a platform meets standards for game integrity, responsible gambling and safety. Alberta’s framework requires operators to have policies to identify and prevent gambling-related harm, intervene when player behaviour is high-risk, offer financial and time-based limits, and connect to the province’s centralized self-exclusion platform.
Alberta passed Bill 48 in spring 2025, creating the Alberta iGaming Act and amending the Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act. The legislation established AiGC to oversee market operations, retained AGLC as regulator and set the minimum online betting age at 18.
Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally has said the province will use available measures to constrain the illicit market. He identified potential discussions with Apple and Google, as well as action involving app stores, search results and social media, while acknowledging that sites could reappear under new names or internet addresses.
