Paul Burns, President and CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association, stated that the new igaming market in Alberta is expected to be operational within a year.
Sequence of Missteps for Market
This week at the NEXT.io Summit in New York, he shared his remarks, initially reported by Covers.
Burns' remarks align with statements from a top industry source to Casino.org.
"They’ve had a couple of false starts there,” the source said. “But that process is about to kick off. Stay tuned for the introduction of some legislation inAlberta soon. The folks in Alberta have been burned a few times on timing. It had been far too optimistic. They don’t want to commit to a timetable. They want to do it right, take all the steps.”
The igaming market is expected to mirror Ontario’s, which features 50 licensed operators and 84 private operator websites, as reported by iGaming Ontario, with prominent brands such as DraftKings, FanDuel, PointsBet, and theScore Bet.
More than $3 billion in revenue from gaming in Ontario
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), which is government-owned, has its igaming platform called Proline. OLG operates three business divisions – lottery (retail), land-based gaming (the crown corporation oversees and manages gaming at 30 casino facilities and 37 charitable gaming centres) and digital gaming (iCasino, iLottery and iSports).
OLG announces its own overall gross online casino and sports betting earnings – for FY 2023-24 they declared $630 million, an increase from $561 in 2022-23.
In FY 2023-24 (from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024), the Ontario private market, excluding OLG, experienced total wagers of $64 billion and generated $2.4 billion in gaming revenue.
Alberta Debuts During Super Bowl
The PlayNow sports betting and digital casino platform from Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis is currently the sole legal option available to players, alongside a significant grey market of unlawful operators.
Brandon Aboultaif, spokesperson for Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, Dale Nally, stated:
"It is no secret Alberta has been working on an igaming strategy. We are currently working through the government’s decision-making process. Should there be legislation, briefings for industry and the media will be provided when the legislation is tabled in the Legislature. Unfortunately, a specific timeline cannot be provided at this time.”