The lawmaker leading Alberta’s online gambling overhaul says the province has quickly attracted interest from multiple online sportsbook and casino operators, and is suggesting the new regulated market those companies will participate in could open before the start of next football season.
Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally says the number of firms that have already expressed interest in an iGaming license from the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC) is in the “double digits.”
- Alberta’s plan for a regulated online sports betting and iGaming market drew strong interest from operators soon after applications could be filed.
- The competitive market could launch before the next NFL season, marking Canada’s second open iGaming model after Ontario.
- Alberta aims to move grey market operators into its regulated market, which will allow for unlimited licensees.
The window to apply for registration with the AGLC officially opened just last week. The speedy applications, then, suggest operators are keen to launch in the Western Canadian province’s regulated market, which has been in the works for a few years.
“The signal to us is that we got it right, the fact that we had so much interest on day one,” Nally told Covers in an interview this week.
The launch date for the new Alberta iGaming market remains TBD, although it was widely expected that it would happen at some point this year. There is still work that needs to be done before it goes live, but saying "2026" is still a safe bet.
Furthermore, some of Nally’s other comments to Covers suggest that operators could go live in the new regulatory framework before the start of the next NFL season, an important time for online sportsbooks in Canada and the U.S.
“You won’t be asking me in the summer when the market’s going to be open,” the minister said. “It’ll be before then.”
There's some progress to report in Alberta, where the provincial government is looking for a board of directors for its new iGaming corporation.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) December 2, 2025
The corp. is key to launching a competitive market for online sports betting/iCasino in AB:https://t.co/CmqJ5GMuKI @Covers
The new Alberta sports betting and iGaming market is designed to include multiple private-sector operators, which will make Alberta the second province in Canada to open up its regulated market for internet gambling, after Ontario did so in 2022. All other provinces in Canada grant government-owned lottery corporations legal monopolies for iGaming.
Alberta is currently a single-operator province, with only the AGLC’s Play Alberta platform authorized to take bets. However, many Albertans are just using online sportsbooks that may be regulated outside the province or abroad, but not by the province itself: so-called "grey" or "black" market operators.
Some of those operators will participate in Alberta’s new, regulated market. That’s one of the driving forces behind online gambling reform in the province, capturing the existing, non-provincially-regulated activity.
It was also a big factor in Ontario's decision to expand regulated iGaming in the province, and Alberta is borrowing heavily from the Ontario model.
All are welcome (if you're serious)
In addition to beginning to take iGaming registration applications, the AGLC has released standards for the regulated market, including some that address “unregulated” activity.
The AGLC, which will function as both an operator of Play Alberta and a regulator of other operators, will be tasked with helping to ensure registered bookmakers cease that unauthorized activity.
Nally said there will be a “runway” for grey- or black-market operators to transition into the regulated market. However, those operators will also need to show they are making a “legitimate” effort to make the switch.
“We’re going to welcome them, we’re going to work with them, but we need to see that they are sincere about coming into our regulated space,” Nally said. “A date will come when we’ve said we’ve given you enough time to come on board, and if you haven’t come on board by then, then we’re going to start using whatever tools at our disposal and roadblocks for the black market.”
Even with the door open for “grey” or “black” operators, exactly how many companies will launch in the Alberta market, and who they are, remains to be seen. The provincial government hasn’t capped the number of licenses, so it will be up to operators to decide if they want to participate.
In Ontario, which has already implemented the kind of competitive iGaming market that Alberta wants to create, there are around 50 operators of online sports betting, slots, table games, poker, and bingo.
It's a safe bet then that you could see a lot of Ontario-regulated operators turning up in Alberta as well, such as bet365, theScore Bet, and PointsBet, along with U.S.-based rivals like DraftKings and FanDuel.
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Managing expectations
Nally, though, noted that Alberta’s population is about a fourth of Ontario’s, so the number of operators in the former’s iGaming market could reflect its smaller player base.
Still, even one new brand would technically double the number of Alberta-regulated operators, and those operators will be allowed to offer both online sports betting and casino games, which should help with participation. Nally said the number of interested parties so far is “a healthy number.”
Interested operators will have to pay a one-time application fee of $50,000 and an annual registration fee of $150,000.
The other key step is signing a commercial contract with the Alberta iGaming Corp., the province's "conduct and manage" entity for this new regulatory scheme. This is the Ontario model: register with the AGCO/AGLC, contract with iGO/AiGC: pic.twitter.com/cdzGNTSbgY
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) January 14, 2026
Yet registering with the AGLC will be just one of two key steps for companies. Operators will have to sign contracts with another entity, the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC), after they are licensed.
An AGLC spokesperson told Covers this week that “to maintain the integrity of applicants and uphold the dual-track process with the Alberta iGaming Corporation, AGLC will not disclose which operators have expressed interest in establishing an iGaming platform in the province.”
“AGLC will work with AiGC to determine who will publish a list of approved operators,” they added.
Money matters
Operators will also have to pay a percentage of their gaming revenue to the province. In Ontario, that percentage is 20%, and in Alberta, it will be close to that.
Before operators and Alberta split the revenue that’s been won from players, 1% of that income will be set aside for responsible and problem gambling programs, and 2% for First Nations in the province.
“Because we said out of the gate that we’re going to be partners in economic reconciliation with First Nations,” Nally said.
After the 3% is deducted, revenue will be an 80/20 split like in Ontario, meaning the Alberta-regulated operators will get 80% and the province will keep 20%. So, a 20% tax rate for operators, nominally, but in reality, a bit more.
On the RG front, one of the ways Alberta has differed from Ontario is that the western province plans to have a centralized self-exclusion tool ready to go at launch (Ontario is still working toward this). In other words, there will be a way for Alberta's bettors to ban themselves from all online gambling sites and brick-and-mortar gaming options in the province with relative ease.
This is a point of pride for Nally, as he and the government have stressed that they don't want to create new gamblers, but rather provide additional protection for existing ones.
“And we’re backing that up by launching this market with system-wide self-exclusion on day one,” Nally said. “And, to me, that shows our commitment to the safety of Albertans.”
