Alberta’s regulated online sports betting and iGaming market went live on July 13, giving the province a private-operator system and making it the second in Canada after Ontario. The change ends Alberta’s era as a one-option market, where PlayAlberta was the only legal online sportsbook and regulated iGaming site.
Coverage on launch day put the market at around 50 operators. SportsBettingDime said the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission had approved 50 operators by July 10, along with 58 critical gaming systems providers and 14 platform providers. The Globe and Mail reported that nearly 50 companies had paid C$200,000 in registration and permit fees, while Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally thought closer to 20 were ready for customers. InterGameOnline, citing the Edmonton Journal, put the confirmed tally at at least 46 operators.
The framework behind the launch was built in spring 2025, when Bill 48 introduced the iGaming Alberta Act and amended the Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act. Alberta’s iGaming Phase 3 factsheet says the bill created the Alberta iGaming Corporation to oversee market operations and designated AGLC as the regulator, while new regulations were published in January to define the process and temporary transition measures.
The money terms are clear. Licensed operators keep 80% of net gaming revenue and pay 20% to the province. The factsheet also allocates 2% of total gross gaming revenue to support First Nations and 1% to social responsibility initiatives, including gambling research, prevention, education and treatment. Operators face a C$50,000 application fee and a C$150,000 renewal fee, and the minimum age to place bets online is 18.
Player-protection rules are central to the new market. The factsheet says Alberta is launching with a centralized self-exclusion platform that can bar Albertans from land-based and regulated online platforms in one place. It also says operators in registration could advertise and sign up prospective customers, but could not add funds to accounts or take bets until registration, due diligence with AGLC, a commercial agreement with AiGC and launch notification were complete.
The government says the point is to pull activity away from the unregulated market. Before Monday, online gamblers in Alberta either used PlayAlberta or risked offshore sites with no consumer protection, and Nally has framed the reform as putting player safety first. He has also said the market could add about C$76 million in its first year, while Ontario, where online casinos and sportsbooks have been legal since 2022, saw active online accounts per 100,000 people rise 239% in the first three years, to about 7,300 from 2,160, according to a University of Toronto study cited by The Globe and Mail.
