EDMONTON, ALTA. — Alberta residents and the Canadian gaming industry will wake up to a new dawn on Monday morning, as the Alberta iGaming market opened for business at midnight on July 13.
Four years, three months, and 10 days after Ontario launched commercial iGaming on April 4, 2022, Canada now officially has two regulated, competitive online gambling provinces. Many of Ontario’s 81 licensed and operational iGaming sites will launch in Alberta on day one on Monday, offering online sports betting or online casino or, in most cases, both.
With more than 15 operators expected to hit the ground running today to begin competing with the government-owned Play Alberta platform, Alberta iGaming will be the biggest market launch in North American history in terms of the number of brands available. More than 50 online sports betting and/or online casino sites have already been licensed by the market regulator (and Play Alberta operator) Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) to do business in the province.
It’s a milestone day for Canadian gaming, one that has been years in the making.
So, of course, the Canadian Gaming Business and SBC teams are on the ground in Edmonton to mark the moment, and we’ll bring you live updates throughout Monday on what we’re seeing and hearing on launch day.
You can also find all of our recent Alberta iGaming coverage here.
12:30 a.m. MT — Some operators already taking bets
A quick scan of some of the licensed sportsbooks that are popular in Ontario suggests that several operators were already accepting bets in Alberta just a few minutes after midnight, including the likes of DraftKings and theScore Bet.
Last week, several major U.S. and Ontario market operators confirmed to Canadian Gaming Business that they would start taking bets in Alberta on day one, including:
- bet365
- BetMGM
- BetRivers
- DraftKings
- FanDuel
Others, including Caesars, PointsBet Canada, Betty Casino, and more are also expected to be operational in Alberta at some point today, while some of the other 50+ iGaming websites will begin doing business at a later date.
We’re heading off to get some sleep, but we’ll be back tomorrow morning to keep you updated with notes, quotes, and photos throughout the day as the Alberta government and the gaming industry mark a milestone moment.
12:01 a.m. MT — Live from Alberta, it’s Monday morning!
And we’re off to the races.
This update comes to you from an Edmonton hotel room, where we stayed up past midnight just to see for yourselves that the market did indeed open as the clock struck midnight, as confirmed by Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC).
