The owner of online sportsbook Betway and online casino Spin expects that Alberta will deliver relatively outsized growth when the Western Canadian province launches its new iGaming market.
- Super Group, parent company of Betway and Spin, is optimistic that Alberta’s upcoming regulated iGaming market will drive strong growth similar to its performance in other Canadian regions.
- The company plans to leverage new technology and lessons from Ontario’s market as Alberta prepares to open its online sports betting and casino sector to private operators.
- Alberta’s government aims to replace “grey market” gambling with a regulated system focused on consumer protection, though the market’s launch may not occur until the second half of 2026.
Super Group Ltd. reported its third quarter financial results on Monday, and followed that with a call for analysts and investors on Tuesday that touched on its hopes for the new Alberta sports betting market.
That regulated and competitive iGaming market is expected to launch next year at some point. It is also anticipated to authorize multiple private-sector companies to take bets from residents.
Alberta's forthcoming iGaming market could eventually generate more than US$700M a year in revenue, according to Citizens JMP Securities analyst Jordan Bender.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) June 26, 2024
"If $700M of gaming revenue is met, it would represent the eighth-largest gaming market in North America." pic.twitter.com/E6IJX9DASe
Super Group already has a presence in Canada and in a similar provincial market, Ontario’s. Super Group CEO Neal Menashe said on Tuesday that his company has “learned our lessons” in Ontario and will launch a new “casino client” there in the first half of 2026.
The new technology will also help the Betway and Spin-owner when they go live in Alberta's new regulated market, Menashe said.
So, while Super Group reported that revenue from Ontario rose 3% year-over-year for the third quarter, the company expects its Alberta growth will be closer to its rest-of-Canada business, receipts for which grew 15% for the three months ended Sept. 30.
“We would expect it to be closer to what else we see in Canada,” Menashe said of Alberta during Tuesday’s call.
The comments from one of the expected players in Alberta highlights the interest among online sports betting sites in joining the province’s new iGaming market. While Alberta is Canada's fourth largest province by population, it is the richest according to gross domestic product per capita figures.
Welcome to Alberta, pop. TBD
One reason for launching a new regulated market is that Alberta is home to a sizable “grey” market, wherein operators are offering residents online sports betting and iCasino without the province’s say-so. Those operators are currently competing with the province’s only authorized iGaming site, Play Alberta.
Similar to Ontario, which launched a competitive iGaming market in 2022, the Alberta government is now preparing to roll out a regulatory framework that could permit “grey” operators to come under provincial regulation and pay a share of revenue to the province.
“We’re not trying to grow the market or create new gamblers in Alberta,” Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally said in May. “Our goal is to implement a regulated market for private companies to legally operate online gambling sites where safeguards are in place, consumers are protected, and market integrity and social responsibility are top of mind.”
Betway and Spin are likely to be joined in Alberta’s new iGaming market by other major brands, such as bet365, BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel.
However, one big question still to be answered is when Alberta will launch its regulated market. The expectation among operators has drifted as far as the second half of 2026 at this point, and the provincial government and regulator have yet to finalize all the rules for participants.
Super Group and others are preparing nonetheless, and see potential in the province. The Betway owner reported on Monday total revenue of approximately US$557 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, which was better-than-expected and up 26% compared to a year earlier. Of that revenue, 33% was attributed to North America, or US$181 million.
Most of that North American revenue is from Canada, as Super Group has withdrawn from the U.S.
"The magnitude of the beat will make this one of the more impressive results across the gaming sector during 3Q25 earnings, in our view, as it has only minimal exposure to bad outcomes from the NFL (in Canada)," Citizens analyst Jordan Bender wrote in a note to clients on Super Group's latest results.
