Alberta plans to begin enforcement action against online gambling operators that continue serving the province without a licence after the transition deadline of Oct. 13. The government has allowed some former grey-market operators additional time to complete registration, but says those that do not become compliant or leave will face a crackdown.
Speaking at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas on Sept. 29, Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally said the province would use every available tool against unregulated sites, according to RG.org. He did not set out the full enforcement plan, saying he did not want to alert operators in advance.
Nally identified cease-and-desist letters, payment processors, app-store operators such as Google and Apple, and social-media platforms carrying gambling apps or advertising as potential points of pressure. “We have levers at our disposal that may not have been tried in the past,” he said.
The policy follows Alberta’s July 13 opening of a regulated online gambling market for private operators. As covered in July, the new regime replaced the province’s former one-option online market with a competitive model overseen by Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis and the Alberta iGaming Corporation.
Operators already taking bets from Albertans before the launch received transition periods on a case-by-case basis to register, pay applicable fees and taxes, or withdraw. The Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission’s March guidance had allowed extensions of up to three months, to Oct. 13, where an operator could demonstrate that compliance before the July launch was unattainable. Late submission of an application was explicitly not a valid reason for an extension.
The transition arrangement was intended to bring established operators into the regulated system rather than require an immediate exit. It also required unregulated operators to settle pre-existing wagers before joining the new market, meaning outstanding futures bets would be voided rather than run to their usual conclusion.
Alberta reported 31 regulated sites as of Sept. 14. Nally expected the licensed roster to move from roughly 35 sites to about 60 by the deadline, while saying the market could eventually support as many as 70 operator sites. Super Group’s Betway completed its move into the regulated market in the days before the report, and regulator officials expected further brands to launch in the following weeks.
Some previously active operators have told the commission they will leave Alberta rather than seek a licence. The enforcement initiative therefore marks the end of the grace period for firms that had been operating in the province before the regulated market opened.
Alberta is the second Canadian province, after Ontario, to open online gambling to private operators. At launch, Nally estimated that 70% of online gambling in Alberta had occurred in the black market, without player-safety controls or responsible-gambling safeguards. The Oct. 13 deadline is the final date available under the maximum case-by-case transition extension.
