Morinville-St. Albert MLA and Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally has tabled legislation that, if passed, seeks to regulate the online gaming (iGaming) industry in Alberta by establishing a new corporation to manage the private iGaming industry.
Bill 48, also known as the iGaming Alberta Act, if passed, would introduce the Alberta iGaming Corporation Act and would make amendments to the Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act in an attempt to regulate the the online gambling and iGaming market in Alberta.
Currently, PlayAlberta is the only regulated iGaming site allowed to operate in Alberta, regulated by the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC). However, unregulated iGaming activities continue to be widely available across the province on the so-called "grey market," such as sites like Bet365.
"We know that unregulated sites may not provide protections for their players in terms of social responsibility or consumer protection, and we want to change that," Nally said during a news conference on March 26.
The province's goal of launching a private regulated market is to reduce the illicit gaming market and provide Albertans with a broader choice of regulated, socially responsible online gaming options.
"This is not about bringing online gambling to the province of Alberta, it's already here," he said. He added that operators in this grey market want to be regulated.
"We've met with them, and they've told us 'if you create a legal, regulated space then we will join it.' So we know that there are responsible operators who want to be part of a safer, more responsible gambling ecosystem."
Nally said without a regulated market, Alberta is losing out on revenue being generated by unregulated operators. Last year, PlayAlberta generated $235 million in net sales.
"These revenues contributed to the $1.5 billion in total gaming revenue that is sent to Alberta's General Revenue Fund, where it can be used to support important programs and services that Albertans rely on," he said.
It is estimated that PlayAlberta only captures about 45 per cent of the market, which would mean the rest of the iGaming market in Alberta is completely unregulated.
Nally said some of the additional revenues that would be captured should the legislation pass would be invested into programs dedicated to safety measures around gambling addiction, although he said it was too early to say exactly how much.
The establishment of the new corporation is an attempt to conduct and manage the private sector, Nally said, separate from the regulatory actions performed by the AGLC. The new corporation would be governed by its own board.
The new legislation would also introduce a self-exclusion system, with funds allocated towards it from Budget 2025, which would allow Albertans to exclude themselves from participation across all regulated online platforms, as well as land-based casinos and racing entertainment centres.
The proposed legislative amendments would come into force on proclamation, and Nally said he didn't have a time estimate for when these changes might be enacted.
