To make online gambling as safe as possible for Albertans, the government is proposing Bill 48: the iGaming Alberta Act, to create the Alberta iGaming Corporation. These proposed changes would ensure that Albertans can safely gamble online in a regulated market.
Currently, unregulated online gambling is widely available across the province. Albertans can sign up and place a bet in minutes with providers that have limited or no player protection or social responsibility measures in place.
“Our goal is not to create new gamblers, but to make existing online gambling safer. As the gaming industry continues to evolve globally and in Alberta, it is important that we modernize Alberta’s approach to gaming to protect the health and safety of Albertans, particularly our youth. The legislation we are introducing, if approved, would take the first steps towards this.”
The iGaming Alberta Act is the first step toward providing Albertans with a broader regulated market that will include consumer protection safeguards and social responsibility tools, which will be established in regulation before it is operational. This includes Albertans having access to a centralized self-exclusion system, allowing them to restrict their ability to gamble across all venues and online platforms. Further measures will clarify that the minimum age to participate in online gambling will be 18.
“We commend Premier Smith, Minister Nally and their teams on all their efforts to bring an open and competitive regulated online gaming marketplace to Alberta. We are fully supportive of a model that has proven to generate new revenue, protect consumers and shift wagering activity to the regulated market, and we’re confident that these benefits will be realized in Alberta. We look forward to supporting the process ahead and ultimately having an opportunity to introduce theScore Bet to Albertans.”
Additionally, with the introduction of a regulated market, Alberta’s government will be able to capture gambling revenues currently being lost to unregulated operators and reinvest them in the province. Alberta’s government will also continue to promote safe, responsible gaming behaviours with existing programs such as GameSense.
Quick facts
- Establishing the Alberta iGaming Corporation to oversee the operation of a private regulated market provides a clear separation of responsibilities with respect to its operational functions and the regulatory functions performed by Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC).
- The proposed bill will designate AGLC as the regulator to ensure market integrity and compliance.
- AGLC has a strong history of being responsible for regulating and protecting the integrity of Alberta’s gaming activities.
- Currently, PlayAlberta is the province’s only legal, regulated iGaming site, which is overseen by AGLC.