Gambling

Alberta To Be The Next Legal Online Gambling Province In Canada

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3 weeks ago

August 22, 2024

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Alberta To Be The Next Legal Online Gambling Province In Canada

Last Updated On 22 August 2024, 11:38 AM EDT (Toronto Time)

Alberta will become the second province with a commercial gambling market in Canada, paving the way for online casinos to become accessible to Albertans.

Dale Nally, the Minister in charge of service and Red Tape Reduction, has announced that Ontario will be the benchmark for regulated online gambling in the province.

“Let me tell you a little bit about what our gaming site is going to look like. It is going to be very similar to Ontario,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, they build the road map.”

Ontario became the first province to introduce regulated iGaming market in 2022, a year after the government legalized single-event betting.

The province has since legalized 70+ websites, reaping $2 billion in annual revenues.

AGLC Won’t Regulate the Industry

The Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC), which regulates gambling in Alberta, won’t take charge of the regulated market. AGLC is both a regulator and an online casino operator—it runs PlayAlberta.com, the only betting website in the province.

Nally confirmed AGLC would not regulate iGaming after potential investors said they were not ready to share their data with a competitor. The minister plans to introduce a new regulator in 2025.

The new regulatory authority will oversee the licensing process, stipulate operating guidelines, and resolve disputes between gamblers and operators. While Nally didn’t confirm the date regulated gambling will launch, many experts believe the plans will be actualized before the end of next year.

A Big Blow to Black Market Casinos

The online gambling market in Alberta is sort of a legal grey area. Although the province has one betting website, the laws don’t prohibit local casino fans from using offshore betting markets. As a result, online casinos are highly popular in Alberta.

Many online casinos have genuine licenses in regulated countries like Malta. They’re safe and reliable. Because they also offer generous bonuses, quality games, and fast payouts, they’re preferred by Albertans.

By regulating online gambling, Alberta hopes to suppress the black market industry and legitimatize iGaming. Regulation is working wonderfully in Ontario. A 2023 study published on AGCO showed that 86% of gamblers preferred legally regulated websites.

The reason Ontario’s market has worked effectively is because it essentially licensed many former black market casinos. It invited all the popular offshore casinos to acquire licenses locally. Most of them did.

Eyeing the $2.4 Billion Gambling Market

One of the main reasons Alberta plans to regulate online gambling is to tap the huge revenues associated with the sector. Online gambling is a $2.4 billion industry in Ontario, and the province has legalized the market for only two years.

Ontario generated roughly $761 million in the first year of legal mobile betting. The market then ballooned by 70%, according to Martha Otton, an executive director at iGaming Ontario.

Although there’s no guarantee the success of iGaming in Ontario can be replicated in Alberta, Alberta is daring to dream. The province has one betting site alone. Yet, Albertans spend $23 billion playing slots and table games in the province every month.

Studies show that up to 80% of Albertans enjoy some form of gambling. Many of them bet through offshore sportsbooks and casinos. By legalizing iGaming, Alberta could generate huge revenues from its budding online gaming market.

Legal Gambling Could Add 15,000 Jobs in Alberta

14,935—that’s the number of jobs the legal online gaming market in Ontario sustains, according to a report by Deloitte research. Legal online gambling has the potential to add a similar number of jobs in Alberta. But it could take some time.

Online casinos don’t need a high number of employees. In fact, gambling websites in Ontario employ just over 2000 people directly. The remaining job opportunities come from subsidiary industries like software companies, banking, web design, and marketing.

Marketing is perhaps the most in-demand job in the online casino industry. Gambling businesses operate under strict TV and radio advertising rules. The Internet is the only place they can market their businesses. And it’s flooded with competitors.

Besides marketing, casinos need content creators who can create quality websites and social media posts. They also require web designers, accountants, dealers, and managers. Online casinos are one of the best-paying industries in the world. As such, legalizing the sector will add high-paying jobs in Alberta.

Joining the Growing Wave of Online Gaming

Online gambling is growing rapidly. According to research firm Statista, the industry generates over $100 billion annually and has a 10% growth rate. In Canada, more than five million bet on sports or play casino games online.

The industry’s growth is buoyed by a rise in smartphone and Internet penetration. Also, the 2021 legalization of single-event betting gave provinces the leeway to regulate the sector freely.

Although legal gaming isn’t a magical solution for Alberta’s economic problems, it could boost the sector significantly. Alberta relies heavily on oil and gas for its revenue. The oil industry generates $16 billion to the province’s economy, a 400% rise compared to four years ago.

Earlier this year, the government announced it plans to expand its revenue resources, especially in less-volatile markets. Online gambling could become an important source of revenue for the province if properly regulated.

A Safe Gambling Market for Albertans

Legalizing online gambling makes the industry safer for players. As we stated, Albertans have been using offshore casinos for years. They primarily use overseas-based websites, which can be unsafe and unreliable.

Regulation helps players separate the wheat from the chaff. They don’t have to risk their money and sensitive data on unproven operators. Regulation also increases competition, which can boost the quality of services.

Presently, many people gamble at offshore casinos because they have better bonuses and games. If Alberta can bring the best casinos to Canada, no one will continue to use offshore operators. Players usually choose the best websites they can find.

Using a locally licensed casino has many advantages for players. First, there’s personalization. Local operators can customize their websites to suit both French and English speakers. They can also provide localized customer service, local payment options, and support the Canadian dollar.