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Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) president Paul Burns said Thursday (March 13) that Alberta has begun to make progress in its efforts to launch an Ontario-style online gaming market, although a government spokesman says no timeline is in place yet.
Burns spoke during a panel discussion on the Canadian gaming market at the NEXT Summit New York.
Alberta has been widely tipped as the next Canadian province to follow in Ontario’s footsteps and implement a regulated online model that will allow private operators to offer online sports betting and online casino games.
However, the process had notably slowed after Alberta government officials burst on the scene in early 2024 touting a speedy launch within just a matter of months.
“We’ve had some stops, some starts, some promises made, some promises missed,” said Ron Segev, founding partner of the Segev LLP law firm in Vancouver.
Speaking to conference delegates, Burns said that “there is a plan” now in place in Alberta.
“It was a bit of a false start, I think, with some of their own unrealistic expectations from when they began as to what they thought they could do,” he acknowledged.
Burns said that Alberta’s Cabinet approved a plan to move forward two weeks ago, and that the regulatory structure would look similar to Ontario's, in line with a policy promise that has been maintained throughout the process by Albertan government leaders.
“What we’re encouraging is to look a lot like Ontario,” Burns said.
“In our discussions with the government [we are] saying if you want 50 companies to look at your market, if you make it the same, from technical standards, other regulatory standards, and ease of licensing process, you too can have some of these companies take a look at your market.”
Burns estimated that the launch of Alberta's regulated market could occur in the first quarter of 2026.
“Over the coming months, there’s more stages they have to go through for approvals, but there’s a plan,” he said.
Brandon Aboultaif, a spokesman for Dale Nally, minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, told Vixio GamblingCompliance on Thursday that the process remains ongoing.
“It is no secret Alberta has been working on an iGaming strategy,” Aboultaif said. “We are currently working through the government’s decision-making process.
“Should there be legislation, briefings for industry and the media will be provided when the legislation is tabled in the legislature. Unfortunately, a specific timeline cannot be provided at this time.”
Burns also said that prior discussions over potentially whitelisting licensed Ontario operators into Alberta to facilitate a quicker launch remains part of the conversation.
“Most licensees have had their license done in the last three years and you don’t need to duplicate for the sake of duplication for time and effort and the resources they need to stand up a regime,” Burns added.
"I think they recognize the work that’s been done, and we think there’s some things they can make better than Ontario. They’re happy to take a look at those things and where they can make the tweaks to improve.”
Operators and suppliers appearing at the NEXT Summit said they were excited by the prospect of Alberta's liberalization, but they would need to see the specifics of the regulatory regime.
“We’re staying in touch with the [operators] we believe will offer,” said Erik Nyman, president, America of technology supplier EveryMatrix. “We need to see the regulations coming out, I would think we’ll see a lot of synergies with what we did and have seen in Ontario, so we have time to prepare, and we’ll definitely be up there.”
"We’re obviously excited to participate in more regulated markets in Canada,” added Brooke Hilton, head of casino for PointsBet Canada. “You can start the project, but there’s not enough detail to start contracts and get going with too much pace at this point.
“Speaking to suppliers and other operators who are currently in the grey space, what they’re seeing in terms of player behavior and trends and things like that is very much a mirrored picture from Ontario, so just natural kind of synergies there in terms of strategy,” she added.
