If you’re an Albertan who loves daily fantasy sports, you may want to sit down for this one.
- Alberta’s new regulated iGaming market launches July 13, and current rules make it likely that paid daily fantasy sports operators such as DraftKings will shut down those contests in the province, as they did in Ontario.
- Alberta allows DFS in principle, but requirements that players be physically located in Alberta may make regulated DFS offerings impractical for operators.
- Future agreements with Ontario or a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court could eventually allow larger shared player pools, potentially improving the outlook for DFS, but both possibilities remain uncertain.
That’s because it’s very much looking like the province’s soon-to-launch regulatory framework for online gambling will not include any options for “pay-to-play” DFS.
"I'm pretty certain we have to give it up,” DraftKings chief compliance officer Jennifer Aguiar said last month during the SBC Summit Canada conference in Toronto.
DraftKings had to drop DFS in Ontario after that province launched its competitive market for online sports betting and internet casino gambling in 2022.
Alberta is now set to launch a very Ontario-like iGaming market July 13 with similar rules, and DraftKings, which currently offers DFS in Alberta, is saying it is fairly sure it will have to shut down those contests.
The number of registered ("licensed") operators for Alberta's soon-to-launch iGaming market is 40+ and counting:https://t.co/kchHUkGGEn@Covers
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) June 8, 2026
Another DFS giant, PrizePicks, exited Canada entirely this year, which means it won’t be in Alberta either. Underdog, meanwhile, has steered clear of Ontario.
So, while Albertans could soon have more than a dozen provincially regulated options for online sports betting (up from the one, Play Alberta, that they have now), they may not have a single authorized DFS provider.
If someone does try to offer DFS in Alberta after July 13, it may be without the blessing of the provincial government, which could attract attention from regulators.
One blessing operators will need in Alberta is from the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC), the government-adjacent entity that will “conduct and manage” Alberta’s competitive online gambling market.
Operators will sign contracts with the AiGC that outline their responsibilities, including handing over approximately 20% of their gaming revenue to the province. That would apply to DFS operators as well, a financial price they may not be willing to pay.
'Permissible,' but possible?
And, as of right now, the AiGC says it is up in the air as to whether DFS is offered at all within the province’s regulated iGaming market.
“Daily fantasy sports contests are permissible in Alberta as of July 13, 2026,” Alberta iGaming Corp. CEO Dan Keene said in a statement to Covers on Thursday. “It remains to be seen if any operator will offer it as part of their package. As our market matures, we will work closely with iGaming operators.”
The uncertainty is due in part to the rules of the road in Alberta.
While DFS will be permissible within the Alberta sports betting market, wherein multiple private-sector operators can launch and offer their products, the province’s iGaming regulations may make daily fantasy less appealing.
“In Alberta and other regulated jurisdictions, fantasy sports are generally treated as part of iGaming because they involve wagering and elements of chance, despite including a skill component,” the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission, the province’s iGaming regulator, says in an FAQ document. “As a result, fantasy sports offerings are typically subject to licensing, regulatory oversight, and compliance requirements similar to those that apply to poker and sports betting.”
That spells trouble for DFS in Alberta because the province’s iGaming rules require that operators ensure their games are provided only within the province.
Operators must also “ensure only players physically located in Alberta can participate and block play when location cannot be verified,” the province’s standards say.
Per an email to customers, DFS/prediction markets operator PrizePicks says it has "made the difficult decision to pause operations in Canada" as of April 3. No new deposits or lineups will be accepted on or after March 10, funds must be withdrawn by April 2. PP not live in ON.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) March 3, 2026
Similar requirements are in place in Ontario and were a big factor behind the DFS exodus there. So, the presence of these types of rules in Alberta (which, again, is largely modelling its iGaming market after that of Ontario) bodes ill for provincially regulated DFS.
“Our focus on July 13 is launching a market that is safe for consumers, provides strong supports for players and functions well for operators,” Keene said. “That is the foundation everything else builds on. Our mandate is not to grow the iGaming market in Alberta, but channel the existing market from illegal to regulated, for the benefit of Albertans.”
There is, however, a caveat to both Alberta and Ontario’s geographic restrictions. The games of their provincially regulated iGaming operators must be provided only within their provinces “unless they are conducted in conjunction with the government of another province.”
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DFS BFFs
And, interestingly enough, Alberta and Ontario are apparently in talks to try to connect their iGaming schemes in some way. The AiGC's CEO, Keene, said as much during the same SBC conference in Toronto last month.
"We're currently working on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ontario about interprovincial liquidity," Keene said during an SBC panel. "So we'll try and get that done as quickly as we can with our friends in Ontario.”
An MOU between Alberta and Ontario could mean they agree to let their online gamblers play games such as DFS or poker with each other. That could potentially sweeten the deal for prospective operators, giving them more incentive to offer those kinds of “peer-to-peer” games.
Still, it’s TBD on whether the MOU is finalized and takes effect. It’s also very TBD if it is material enough for operators like DraftKings to deviate from their plans.
“AiGC and iGaming Ontario are working together to support collaboration between our two markets,” Keene said in his statement to Covers this week. “However, we have no further details to share.”
That being said, there is another avenue through which DFS in Ontario, and possibly Alberta, could get a lift. This would be the ongoing court case that was launched by the Ontario government to determine whether it would be legal for its online gamblers to play games involving bettors outside of Canada.
The matter is currently before the Supreme Court of Canada, as a coalition of government-owned lottery corporations appealed a lower-court decision. That lower decision, by the Court of Appeal for Ontario, largely sided with its provincial government, with a majority of judges agreeing it would be legal to connect Ontario’s iGaming scheme with others abroad.
Ontario’s reasoning is that international iGaming liquidity would bolster its regulated iGaming market, allowing operators to offer bigger poker tournaments or DFS contests, for example. That could then help with migrating more online gambling in the province into provincially regulated channels.
First hit on today's big news for Ontario DFS.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) November 12, 2025
In short, it looks like a win for those who want DFS back in the province. And while a win's a win, there's still a dissenting judge and the possibility of further appeal. More to come.https://t.co/CupbMHWwyK @Covers
It would also, Ontario argues, be legal because Ontario-based players would be gambling within the province’s regulatory framework while those abroad would be overseen by their local regimes.
If the Supreme Court were to see things similarly, it could mean that Ontario, and then perhaps Alberta, could allow its online gamblers to play DFS or poker with players based in the U.S. or further abroad. Time will tell what the Supreme Court’s decision will be and the effect it will have on operators.
Control yourself
Meanwhile, the Alberta government has been approved as an intervener in the Supreme Court case and filed a factum May 25 outlining its views.
Alberta is limited in what it can say as an intervener, but its factum notes the outcome of the case “could impact the validity and operation of Alberta’s own online gaming statutory regime (iGaming Alberta), recently enacted under the iGaming Alberta Act.”
And Alberta’s position appears supportive of Ontario’s, which, if the Supreme Court concurs, could ultimately allow Alberta to connect its iGaming scheme to others abroad as well. That, again, could be helpful for operators in deciding whether or not they want to offer DFS in the province.
“All together, the principles of constitutional interpretation drawn from this Court’s jurisprudence establish that it is appropriate to follow a restrained approach to interpreting whether there is a conflict between s. 207(1)(a) of the Criminal Code and the proposed changes to iGaming Ontario,” Alberta’s factum says. “Absent a genuine inconsistency, this Court should favour an interpretation that allows for the concurrent operation of both laws.”
