Alberta Forges Ahead with iGaming and Sports Betting Verticals

Last week, lawmakers in Alberta issued an “order in council” which allowed them to enact certain aspects of a proposed draft law, Bill 48, known as the iGaming Alberta Act, which essentially allows legislation to take place while the details are hammered out.

Alberta Sets Up Everything It Needs to Launch iGaming, Betting

With parts of the bill already having come into force, iGaming is due to launch either later this year or early in the next.

Companies have already been lining up for a chance to be amongst the first fully-licensed private local entities to bring sports betting and iGaming locally, with the names of FanDuel and DraftKings cropping up on the list of those interested.

Bill 48 is, for all intents and purposes, in motion now, and applicants may start preparing for the launch of the market. However, a few details still need to be hammered out, including what advertising rules will be applicable.

Advertising rules are, in fact, quite important in Canada, as a senator has recently proposed that the country take a more concentrated effort towards standardizing ad rules for the gambling sector.

Senator Marty Deacon simply argued that he wanted to ensure that these rules did not lead to a higher incidence of problem gambling in the country, and fully supported a competitive and regulated gambling market in the country.

As these details are being thrashed out, Alberta is keen to move forward with legalizing the industry and creating worthwhile opportunities for stakeholders.

Final Details Being Talked Out

The goal is not to create new gamblers, as previously noted by supporters of Bill 48, but to focus on creating a competitive framework in which the current gamblers are accommodated and they don’t end up gambling with offshore and risky operators.

Alberta has been gearing up for a big launch for the past several months, with the signs ever-clear since May that the province will become the second fully-regulated jurisdiction in Canada to offer a diverse range of gaming and betting options.

The introduction of a regulated gambling framework will break up the monopoly that PlayAlberta currently exercises locally and will add more stakeholders to create a far more competitive market, and also – and hopefully, eliminate parts of the black market.

As to sports betting, Bill 48 is drawing from Ontario’s own regulated market and is expected to implement a very similar structure.