Another province in Canada has opened the door for private operators to enter the online gambling market. Alberta will officially launch a competitive online gambling market on July 13, ending the monopoly previously held by the provincial platform PlayAlberta. Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta, revealed that the first batch of 51 licensed brands are approved to go online, covering global and local players such as BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, Bet365, and the Canadian native platform CasinoDays. The government expects the regulated market to contribute about C$76 million in revenue in its first year. PASA's official website noted that Nally deliberately kept the tone very grounded during the announcement—"Gambling will never be safe, nor will it ever be responsible, but we can make it a bit safer and a bit more responsible. We can't shut down the internet, but we can regulate it."
For every 100 dollars collected, three dollars go to society and indigenous communities
The funding allocation model designed by Alberta is quite clear. 1% of the total gambling revenue from operators will be specifically invested in responsible gambling projects, covering treatment for problem gambling; an additional 2% supports the development of indigenous communities. At the net income level, the government retains about 20%, with the remaining approximately **80%** distributed to operators. Meanwhile, a centralized self-exclusion system will allow players to restrict their access on all licensed platforms with one click, and advertising restrictions have also been implemented to curb aggressive marketing.
This design has a very clear goal, but Nally spoke more transparently in response to the "Edmonton Journal". He pointed out that many of the operators joining the new iGaming system are brands that Albertans had previously accessed through the grey market. "With proper regulation, players will have safer options, and operators will contribute to problem gambling projects for the first time." Before the regulation started, the grey market was estimated to account for about **70%** of Alberta's online gambling activities—bringing seventy percent of players back from unregulated areas to protected zones is the real KPI of this reform.
Following Ontario, Alberta is next
Alberta thus becomes the second province in Canada to allow private operators into the online gambling market. The first to take the plunge, Ontario, launched market reforms in 2022, recording about **C$87 million** in revenue in its first year. The estimated difference from C$87 million to C$76 million partly reflects the population and economic size differences between the two provinces, but also provides Alberta with a benchmark.
DraftKings' Director of Horse Racing and Sports Betting, Johnny Avello, noted the impact of mobile applications on sports betting, stating that apps have removed betting barriers, offering sports fans a wider range of choices and a stronger entertainment experience. The regulatory expansion of sports betting across North America can be traced back to the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision that green-lighted states to legislate independently—from U.S. states to Canadian provinces, the wave of deregulation has been pushing northward.
PASA's official website believes that several details of Alberta's open model are noteworthy: one is the 1%+2% social funding distribution mechanism, which provides the industry with a quantifiable "social license" cost sample; second is the government's choice to introduce competition rather than maintain a monopoly, directly acknowledging the reality of the grey market—rather than keeping seventy percent of players outside regulation, it's better to let the brands already serving them come in, but they must play by the rules. This pragmatic approach, in jurisdictions still wavering between "ban or regulate", may be more persuasive than moral preaching.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
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