The updated over/under on when Alberta will join Ontario in launching a regulated online gaming and betting market is your guess is as good as mine.
There had been speculation/hope/prayer that Alberta would get on board in time for Grey Cup betting, but possibly in part because the Edmonton Elks and Calgary Stampeders are languishing in the two-story basement of the CFL’s West division, Dale Nally is pumping the brakes.
The Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction minister told a Las Vegas audience at the Global Gaming Expo: “If I’m back here a year from now, I’m bragging about [how] the Edmonton Oilers have won the Stanley Cup. We’ll be talking about an open and free market in Alberta, and I’m hoping that the feedback that I get is, ‘Thank you for making our entry into your market seamless and easy.’”
In June, speaking at the Canadian Gaming Summit in Toronto, Nally said his province would go after a model similar to the open market running in Ontario, which started the speculation on just when that would happen.
But after the Vegas announcement, a Nally spokesperson told Canadian Gaming Business that while more time is needed for talks with stakeholders, the minister’s office still has a 2025 target for laying out its gaming plans in detail.
“As the gaming industry continues to evolve globally and in Alberta, we want to ensure a conducive business environment, while protecting the health and safety of Albertans, particularly our youth,” said Brandon Aboultaif, the minister’s press secretary. “We want to get our iGaming strategy right by ensuring fairness and transparency to everyone…Further engagements will also help to identify opportunities to align the strategy with our red tape reduction priorities.”
(You know what red tape is, right?)
So, is 2025 a certainty?
“While we aim to put the strategy forward in 2025, we will continue to provide updates as this work unfolds,” Aboultaif continued.
Some have interpreted Nally’s remarks in Vegas as meaning he wants online sports betting and internet casino gambling in Alberta up and running before next October’s G2E 2025.
As of now, a monopoly on iGaming in the province is held by the Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis Commission, which recently announced a mobile version of its online sportsbook, and plans to next year add live-dealer, casino and lottery games.
Ontario is the only province in Canada that doesn’t limit the number of gaming operators, though many analysts expect Alberta to look a lot like Ontario, whenever the province makes the move.
That will in all likelihood be after the Alberta government reaches agreement with the province’s First Nations, which want a role in the iGaming market. Discussions with First Nations took place over the summer.
