Alberta's United Conservative government has swatted away some proposed changes to its online sports betting and casino gambling bill, keeping intact legislation that will lay the foundation for a competitive iGaming market in the Western Canadian province.
Key Insights
- Bill 48, the iGaming Alberta Act, is undergoing a committee review in the provincial legislature, but is near to passing.
- Given the Conservative majority in the legislature, its passage is almost a certainty.
- Once the bill becomes law, it will put in place the legal groundwork for a competitive iGaming market in Alberta, which will be further firmed up with regulations that have yet to be introduced.
Bill 48, the iGaming Alberta Act, began the legislature's Committee of the Whole process on Tuesday in Edmonton.
A handful of tweaks to the bill, proposed by the opposition New Democratic Party, were shot down on a 38-16 vote before the committee adjourned for the day.
The rejection of the amendment now tees up approval of the bill by the Committee of the Whole. That would then send the government-backed legislation back to the full assembly for its third and final reading, bringing an overhaul of Alberta sports betting and iGaming one step closer.
Third reading could take place as early as Thursday, according to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta's order paper. Moreover, the majority of seats the governing United Conservative Party possesses in the legislature means passage of the legislation is almost certain.
We’re setting the stage for an online gaming market that protects Albertans.
— Dale Nally (@DaleNally_AB) March 29, 2025
More here: https://t.co/0U1ETle2gi pic.twitter.com/Dy74ISqYwD
After third reading, Bill 48 would become law after receiving the mostly ceremonial blessing of Royal Assent from Lieutenant Governor Salma Lakhani. It would then need to be proclaimed into force by the government.
Once it becomes law, Bill 48 would set out the legal framework for an Ontario-like iGaming market in Alberta, wherein multiple private-sector operators of online sportsbooks and casino sites could come under local regulation and launch or re-launch in the province.
Currently, the only provincially regulated option in Alberta is Play Alberta. The site is run by the Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis Commission (AGLC), a government agency.
Yet Play Alberta is not the only site Albertans are using to gamble with online. Research suggests so-called “grey” or “black” market operators account for more than half of all online gambling in the Western Canadian province.
"Online gambling is here," said Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally, Bill 48's sponsor, in the legislature on Tuesday. "What we're trying to do is we're trying to make it safer."
iGaming models grow ... in Ontario
Bill 48 would provide a way for private-sector operators to join the fray in Alberta with the provincial government's approval.
The legislation would create a new government entity (the "Alberta iGaming Corporation") with which operators could sign contracts allowing them to take bets in the province. Those contracts could also outline certain responsibilities for iGaming operators, such as the amount of revenue they must hand over to the province.
The AGLC, meanwhile, would function as the regulator of the new iGaming market.
Once passed, the bill could make it so well-known brands like DraftKings and FanDuel could launch online sportsbooks in Alberta. It would also bring names Albertans are already using under an umbrella of provincial legislation.
In doing so, Alberta would become the second province in Canada to launch a competitive iGaming market.
In April 2022, Ontario became the first, and there are now 50 authorized iGaming operators in the province, including the government-owned Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.
Homework assignment
The passage of Bill 48 in the legislature is just one major step Alberta must take toward a new iGaming market.
Still to come are regulations that will further outline the rules under which private internet operators could offer sports betting, slots, table games, and poker. Those rules would likely include guidelines for advertising and responsible gambling programs.
The opposition New Democratic Party have raised concerns about the lack of those details in Bill 48 during the debates on the legislation.
NDP critic Gurinder Brar introduced proposed amendments on Tuesday that were ultimately rejected, but that would have included a requirement to establish and maintain an online program to promote responsible gambling based on the principles of harm reduction.
"Why ... would we open the floodgates to online gambling without a harm reduction framework?" Brar asked. "It's just like handing out liquor bottles to teenagers and saying, 'Good luck.'"
However, the minister in charge of the iGaming file acknowledged the barebones nature of the legislation. More rules are coming, the government says, and Bill 48 just gets the ball rolling.
"This legislation is just enabling legislation," Nally said on Tuesday. "We don't want to put player safety in legislation. We want to put it in regulation so that if we see something that we want to turn around on a dime, we're able to do it through an order-in-council, not a new piece of legislation."
