In its first discussion in the Alberta legislature’s Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, lawmakers voted down proposed amendments to the iGaming Alberta Act that would have written more responsible gambling measures into law.

Minister Dale Nally’s Bill 48 passed second reading on April 16 and was referred to the committee, which comprises all members of the legislative assembly (MLAs).

The bill would create the legal framework for a regulated commercial online gambling market in Alberta. It would create a new government agency, the Alberta iGaming Corporation, which would conduct and manage the market, much like iGaming Ontario does in Canada’s first and so far only regulated private-sector iGaming market. Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) would function as the regulator of the market and also continue to operate its own Play Alberta platform.

NDP’s pushback outvoted

Before it advanced to committee discussion, the New Democratic Party (NDP) expressed concerns about the lack of details it includes, particularly with respect to player protection and other safeguards.

In its first committee debate, the conversation once around centred on what is — and, more prominently, what isn’t — included in the bill’s language around responsible gambling.

On Tuesday, NDP MLA Gurinder Brar, one of the most vocal critics in the earlier session, proposed a set of amendments that would require the province to set up a dedicated online responsible gambling program based on harm reduction principles. The Alberta iGaming Corporation would have to carry out mandatory independent evaluations of its effectiveness as well as annual public reporting.

“The basic process of public policy is to design it, to implement it and to evaluate it. And if there are gaps, those gaps must be addressed and fixed,” Brar told the chamber. “And that’s exactly what these amendments are.”

Although Brar’s proposal was supported by multiple other NDP MLAs, with one arguing that Bill 48 is a “deeply incomplete” piece of legislation that “invites more questions than answers”, the amendment package was ultimately defeated by a vote of 38 nays to 16 yays.

Government argues RG should be in regs, not legislation

In response to Brar’s monologue, Nally argued that responsible gambling programs should and will be a regulatory issue rather than a legal one.

“We don’t want to put player safety in legislation,” he stressed. “We want to put it in regulation so that if we see something we want to turn around on a dime, we’re able to do it through an order in council, not a new piece of legislation.

“I’m saying this to make the conversations shorter around this room: We don’t have to debate player safety, gambling responsibility. There is no light between us. I assure you, we are all 100% aligned … But we’re going to do it in the most efficient and effective manner possible, and that’s through regulation.”

Supporting Brar’s amendment, his fellow NDP MLA Nathan Ip countered that omitting specific RG measures from the legislation itself is in itself a gamble on Albertans’ well-being.

“The risk is that these protections will come too late, if at all.”

Another NDP MLA, Joe Ceci, argued that the amendments could actually fit neatly into the bill’s language, noting that the legislation already includes some standard requirements on player protection.

“So, asking now to put those in legislation is not such a big leap as was suggested a little while ago by the Minister.”

Despite those calls for a pivot, the committee voted down the amendments and seems primed to approve the bill. That would send it back to the full legislature for third and final reading, where the large incumbent United Conservative Party (UCP) majority suggests it is highly likely to pass.