Alberta is good to gab.
The Attorney General of Alberta’s application to intervene in a landmark gambling case before the Supreme Court of Canada – one that could have a major impact on online sports betting, casino gaming, daily fantasy contests, and poker all over the country – was granted on Monday.
- Alberta has been granted permission to intervene in a Supreme Court of Canada case that could shape the future of online sports betting, poker, and daily fantasy contests nationwide.
- The case stems from Ontario’s regulated iGaming market and will determine whether provinces can link players with international markets, which could revive or expand online gaming options.
- Alberta plans to launch an Ontario-like iGaming system in July and believes the court’s decision will significantly impact how its new market operates.
According to the decision, Alberta can file a factum of up to 10 pages. Its representative can also give a five-minute oral argument to Canada’s highest court at the eventual hearing.
There will, however, be some restrictions on what Alberta can actually argue.
“The intervener is not entitled to express a position on the disposition of the appeal, to raise new issues, to adduce further evidence or otherwise to supplement the record of the parties,” the decision says. “The intervener is not permitted to advance submissions that duplicate those of the other parties.”
Apropos of Alberta seeking to intervene in the online poker/DFS-related Supreme Court case, a government spokesperson says that the matter “is not expected to impact the timing of Alberta’s iGaming market launch this spring.”https://t.co/8K0H7IvCd2@Covers
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) March 18, 2026
Nevertheless, Alberta will get to provide its perspective to the court as it wrestles with a case that could have huge consequences for casino gambling and online sports betting in Canada.
The case will also have a bearing on Alberta’s plan for a serious shakeup of online sports betting and internet-based casino gambling in the Western Canadian province.
The new Alberta sports betting and iGaming market is scheduled to launch on July 13. That is the day a small army of private-sector gambling operators will be permitted to take bets within the province’s new regulatory framework.
Major brands such as bet365, DraftKings, and FanDuel are lining up to participate in the new regulated iGaming market. They will do so alongside Alberta's only authorized iGaming operator at the moment, the government-owned Play Alberta.
In launching a regulated iGaming system, Alberta will be following the example of Ontario, which launched a competitive iGaming market in April 2022. It’s the launch of Ontario's market that arguably triggered the case before the Supreme Court, in which Alberta will now get a say.
Terms and conditions may apply
The rules of the now four-year-old Ontario sports betting market include classifying “pay-to-play” daily fantasy contests as gambling and requiring all bettors to be physically based in the province to wager. That has lowered the ceiling on the size of online poker games and prompted a DFS exodus from Ontario.
The Ontario government then referred a question to the province’s appeals court, asking if it would be legal to link its online gambling scheme with those abroad. Ontario believed it would be legal and that it would help pull more gamblers into its regulated market, but was opposed by several other provincial lottery corporations.
A majority decision last November sided with the Ontario government. However, the opinion was appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, where it now awaits further clarification.
If the Supreme Court leaves the lower-court decision untouched, it could mean that Ontario-based DFS and poker players could be paired with rivals in the U.S. or other countries. That may make it economical enough for iGaming operators to bring paid DFS contests back to the province, although there are no guarantees.
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The west wants in
Alberta, meanwhile, is moving closer to the launch of its Ontario-like iGaming market that will have Ontario-like rules, including that all gamblers must be in the province to gamble. That could create similar issues as the ones in Ontario, meaning DFS and online poker could take a hit.
While the Alberta government told Covers that the Supreme Court matter isn’t expected to affect the timing of the new iGaming market’s launch on July 13, the province still believes the case will have an effect on its plans.
Alberta’s request to the Supreme Court noted that its iGaming legislation didn’t ban individuals from outside of Canada from participating in games run by the province's regulated agents. That is, of course, as long as it's all right with the local authorities in those other countries.
“Consequently, this appeal will have a significant impact on determining the legality and operation of the iGaming Alberta Act,” the province argued. “While no constitutional question has been formally raised in this appeal – and accordingly the [Attorney General of Alberta] cannot intervene as of right – the issues still relate to the legality and operation of validly enacted provincial legislation. The views of AGAB should be considered by this Court.”
The same filing telegraphed that Alberta wanted to argue that federal criminal law “should be interpreted in a flexible and broad manner so that it does not conflict with valid provincial legislation regulating gaming.”
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
This position, in addition to Alberta’s iGaming reforms, suggests the province might have an Ontario-like opinion of the case as well.
There are, however, several others who may not share those opinions. Namely, they are the government-owned lottery and gaming corporations in Atlantic Canada, British Columbia, and Quebec, the last of which was approved as an appellant in the Supreme Court matter on April 2.
These members of the so-called Canadian Lottery Coalition have acted as the de facto opposition to Ontario’s plans, warning there would be negative consequences and a potentially slippery slope that could be created if the province can access international iGaming liquidity.
There are several other approved interveners in the Supreme Court case, including the Canadian Gaming Association and FanDuel-owner Flutter Entertainment PLC.
No hearing date has been set yet.
