Alberta will officially launch its regulated online gambling market, featuring online sports betting, on July 13, 2026.
Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally sent a letter to industry stakeholders on March 30 advising them of the prospective launch date.
“The launch of a regulated iGaming market is an exciting chapter for our province, and I am confident that we can work together to build a market that is both competitive and socially responsible,” wrote Nally. “Alberta’s future in iGaming is bright, and, with your partnership, we will ensure it is a success for everyone.”
Alberta will be the second Canadian province to embrace private operators into its online gambling marketplace after Ontario successfully deployed its regulated iGaming market in April 2022. Alberta’s government has largely adopted the same legal framework that was developed by Ontario’s provincial government, which has been heralded as one of the most successful iGaming models in the world.
Alberta Gaming , Liquor & Cannabis will act as the market regulator alongside the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC) as the conduct-and-manage entity for the new market, and the government’s current online gambling platform, Play Alberta, will continue to function in full capacity.
Alberta is planning to tax all licensed online gambling operators at 20% of their gross gaming revenue, with an additional 2% going towards First Nations funding and 1% towards social responsibility initiatives.
Only potential players located within the geographic boundaries of Alberta will be able to access these online gambling platforms, which include online sports betting, online casino, and online poker.
From a responsible gambling perspective, Alberta is planning to launch a centralized self-exclusion program, which will allow gamblers to opt out of all iGaming platforms, all land-based casinos, and all racing entertainment centres all at once. This is something that Ontario has been trying to implement since 2022 but has failed to deploy as of April 2026.
Which online sportsbooks will launch in Alberta?
All private operators currently interested in launching in Alberta’s new regulated online gambling market are currently engaged in a thorough licensing process with the Alberta government. As of April 1, there are no confirmed private operators set to formally enter the marketplace, but the government says there are up to 50 operators with interest in being included.
Some of the operators likely to launch in Alberta or that have already expressed intent include the following:
- Bet99
- BetMGM
- BetRivers
- Betty
- Caesars
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
- High Roller Technologies
- NorthStar Gaming
- PointsBet
- Soft2Bet
- Super Group (Betway, Jackpot City)
- theScore Bet
- TonyBet
- bet365
Previous bets will be settled with grey market sportsbooks
The Alberta government estimates that roughly 70% of all iGaming play right now in the province is happening on unregulated platforms, also known as the grey market. If these grey market operators want to continue offering their platforms to Albertans after July 13, they’ll need to become licensed with the government and begin paying taxes on their gross gaming revenue.
So what does this mean for Alberta sports bettors?
Well, if a sports bettor in Alberta currently has pending bets with a grey market operator, such as bet365, for example, they can expect that those bets will be voided by the operator by July 13. So, if you hypothetically already have a futures bet on the Toronto Blue Jays to win the World Series, you can expect that bet to be voided in the coming months. However, bettors will be able to place a new wager, albeit at different odds, once the operator has transitioned to the regulated market.
Bettors should also expect some additional KYC (know your customer) requirements and new terms and conditions that will need to be confirmed by the operator after successfully transitioning to the regulated market.
No political betting
One major difference between Alberta’s new regulated online gambling market and Ontario’s licensed framework is that Albertans will not be able to place bets on political markets.
The AGLC recently issued a bulletin advising changes to the Sports Event Betting standard, which include prohibiting betting on political events, elections, by-elections, and leadership contests.
Also on the list of prohibitive wagers are bets on human suffering, death, non-consensual violence; bets on animal fighting or cruelty; bets on assets or financial markets such as stocks and currencies; and bets on minor league sports.
The recent evolution of prediction markets, such as Kalshi, south of the border in the United States, has made these types of novelty bets popular stateside. However, prediction markets aren’t legal in Canada.