Alberta’s gambling regulator has told operators running unregulated lottery schemes in the province to apply for a licence by July 13 or stop operating there. The warning comes as Alberta prepares to open its regulated iGaming and sports betting market.
According to guidance reported by Covers, any operator “who is or has been operating an unregulated lottery scheme in Alberta” must file an application by launch day. The same guidance says July 13 is also the date grey operators must cease unregulated activity, including taking bets from Albertans without provincial approval.
There is a narrow escape hatch. The Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission will consider a case-by-case extension of up to three months, to October 13 at the latest, but only where an operator can show a path to compliance that was not attainable before launch.
The market opening itself is scheduled for July 13, and Alberta will become the second Canadian province to launch a commercial online casino and sports betting market after Ontario. In a letter to iGaming stakeholders, Minister Dale Nally said player protection and social responsibility would be central to the new system.
At launch, Albertans are due to get system-wide self-exclusion, financial limits and time-based limit tools. Licensed operators will also have to provide activity statements and take action when signs of problem gambling are identified.
The province has split the work between two bodies. AGLC is the regulator responsible for registration, standards, compliance and self-exclusion integration, while the Alberta iGaming Corporation handles commercial agreements and the conduct-and-manage function tied to legal online gaming.
AGLC started accepting registration applications in January, after amendments to the Gaming Liquor and Cannabis Regulation were approved. Gaming Intelligence said 55 sites had applied for a licence earlier this month.
Covers reported that around 50 apps and sites were already registered with AGLC as of last Friday. Coolbet has also said it will shut down in Alberta on July 13 because it can no longer offer its services there without a local licence.
The crackdown lands against a sizeable grey market. Covers estimated that roughly 70% of online gambling in Alberta is happening with an operator that is not Play Alberta, the province’s only licensed iGaming site.
Officials have said the reform is meant to channel online gambling away from offshore platforms and into a regulated environment. Even so, Covers reported that Alberta expects to collect about $76 million in first-year tax revenue, mostly from a levy of a little more than 20% of operator income.
