International liquidity may be more of a “nice to have” and not a “need to have” for Alberta’s big sports betting and online casino gambling shakeup.
- Alberta plans to launch its regulated iGaming market this year and does not expect an ongoing Supreme Court case to delay it.
- The case could affect rules around international player pooling, which may impact online poker and daily fantasy sports in Alberta.
- Despite the legal uncertainty, Alberta is proceeding while seeking input in the Supreme Court appeal.
The Western Canadian province is still moving ahead with a plan to license and regulate a multitude of private-sector operators of online sportsbooks and casinos, with the launch of the new regulated market expected to happen around the middle of this year.
There are, however, some significant legal matters that may affect how Alberta’s competitive iGaming market will function. Those matters involve an attempt to have the Supreme Court of Canada undo a lower-court decision in Ontario that could allow for that province to link its online gambling scheme with those of other countries.
One interesting thing about the forthcoming Alberta iGaming market is that operators can start signing up customers when they apply for a license. No deposits yet, though. Here, for example, is @PointsBetCanada announcing AB pre-reg is now open for customers: pic.twitter.com/tANclBf89H
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) February 3, 2026
Ontario believes international iGaming liquidity could help breathe life back into the province’s online poker scene and perhaps provide a path for “pay-to-play” daily fantasy contests to return. Those two verticals took a hit when Ontario launched its competitive iGaming market in 2022, as the rules of the market require all players to be physically located in the province.
While the Supreme Court has yet to weigh in, when it does, it will carry serious weight. It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that the Attorney General of Alberta recently filed a motion to intervene in the Supreme Court appeal, claiming that it “will have a significant impact on determining the legality and operation of” the province’s iGaming legislation.
Full speed ahead
Alberta, though, doesn’t anticipate the Supreme Court appeal will delay its plan to launch Canada’s second competitive market for iGaming.
“Alberta’s government has filed an intervention application and looks forward to participating in that process to provide our insights,” said Kevin Lee, press secretary to Alberta’s de facto iGaming minister, Dale Nally, in a statement to Covers on Tuesday. “This matter is not expected to impact the timing of Alberta’s iGaming market launch this spring.”
The comments should give some confidence to bettors and operators that Alberta remains on track to launch its competitive iGaming market, which will bring the number of provincially regulated operators from one, Play Alberta, to hopefully many.
There is a lot of work left to do before the new Alberta sports betting market opens, but progress is being made.
Still, the legal uncertainty about international liquidity may also cause some concern for poker aficionados and DFS players in Alberta. Ontario’s poker and DFS scenes were hit hard by its competitive iGaming market, and Alberta is adopting many of the same policies, including that all players must be in the province.
Ontario continues to deal with that fallout, and it's why the provincial government there referred a question to its Court of Appeal asking whether it would be legal to link its iGaming scheme with foreign jurisdictions. By connecting to a U.S. state or another country, the potential size of online poker games could grow, and there could be enough there for DFS operators to re-engage in Ontario.
Updated with the latest, bullish chatter about when Alberta's new iGaming market will open. Sounds like a late Q2 debut is very much a possibility. https://t.co/TiLr61NIVu
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) February 25, 2026
A majority decision from the Court of Appeal for Ontario said the province’s proposed sharing of iGaming liquidity with foreign jurisdictions would be legal. However, a coalition of government-owned lotteries appealed the Ontario decision to the Supreme Court of Canada, keeping things legally uncertain for the foreseeable future.
It’s also uncertain exactly what will happen in Alberta, namely, if poker games will shrink and DFS contests will shutter. It’s also possible that Ontario and Alberta agree to share iGaming liquidity between themselves, which could help.
Nevertheless, Alberta is concerned enough to try to intervene in the Supreme Court case.
“While no constitutional question has been formally raised in this appeal—and accordingly the [the Attorney General of Alberta] cannot intervene as of right—the issues still relate to the legality and operation of validly enacted provincial legislation,” says the Alberta motion, which was filed on March 11. “The views of [the Attorney General of Alberta] should be considered by this Court.”
