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Alberta legislators have approved a bill to create an online gaming framework that will allow private operators to offer regulated gaming in the province.
Bill 48, or the iGaming Alberta Act, introduced in March by Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, creates the Alberta iGaming Corporation and allows that new entity to conduct and manage online gaming in the province in accordance with Canadian federal law.
The goal, Nally has maintained, is to borrow heavily from Ontario’s online gaming model, which launched in 2022 and now features 49 operators and 83 gaming websites under the umbrella of iGaming Ontario.
The Committee of the Whole from the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Alberta voted to send the bill to the floor without amendment for its third and final reading on Wednesday night (May 7).
Later that night, the full assembly voted to approve the bill.
"We have worked hard to set up a framework to strike a balance between increasing consumer choice among regulated iGaming operators and taking steps to ensure our standards for social responsibility are met," Nally said on the Assembly floor Wednesday night.
The committee took up the bill for the first time on April 29, but adjourned discussion without taking action.
The proposal was a policy goal of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who tasked Nally with the mandate in July 2023, and legislative approval was always likely since her United Conservative party holds 47 of the legislature’s 87 seats.
The final step for the bill to become law is receiving royal assent from the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, a largely ceremonial move.
Members from the primary opposition party, the New Democratic Party (NDP), expressed concerns that the bill lacks substance and defers significant policy questions to regulations.
“A central concern with Bill 48 is that we still do not know what the specific regulations or rules will be for the proposed Alberta iGaming Corporation,” NDP Member Parmeet Singh Boparai said.
“While the bill sets the groundwork for the creation of this new Crown Corporation, the details regarding player protection, advertising restrictions and responsible gambling policies will be determined only after the bill is passed.”
“This bill does not contain a single concrete rule, safeguard, or mechanism to regulate online gambling,” fellow NDP Member Nathan Ip said.
“It does not outline standards for player protection. It does not establish advertising restrictions. It does not address age verification. It does not define how revenues will be allocated.
“Instead, it defers all of these critical matters to regulations that may or may not be introduced later.”
Nally said Wednesday that more details about the regulations and specific protections, including restrictions on advertising, will come "later this year, following further engagement".
