Alberta's Online Gambling Market Adds Sports Interaction

A total of 22 licensed iGaming sites went live on day one of Alberta’s regulated market on July 13. Ten days later, it’s now an even two-dozen.

Entain brands Sports Interaction and Party Casino are officially operational in the market as of Thursday, July 23. That completes a hat-trick of platforms for the British company, given that its BetMGM joint venture went live on day one.

Sports Interaction and Party Casino have each operated for years in Ontario’s regulated market. Sports Interaction was available in Alberta prior to the official market launch, and has completed its transition to become a regulated iGaming site in accordance with the Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis (AGLC) licensing process and Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC) requirements.

“Alberta represents an exciting next step for regulated online gaming in Canada,” an Entain spokesperson told Canadian Gaming Business. “Ontario demonstrated the benefits of a well-regulated, competitive market, and Alberta has the foundations to build on that success. With Sports Interaction, BetMGM and Party Casino, we are bringing a compelling, responsible and high-quality offering to players. We understand what customers expect and are ready to deliver.”

Sports Interaction features a full sportsbook and an expansive online casino offering, while Party Casino is an iCasino-focused platform. They are the 23rd and 24th sites to start taking bets since Alberta opened its licensed market on July 13.

Sports Interaction has long Canadian history

Sports Interaction is one of the oldest Canadian real-money gaming brands. It launched in 1997 under the ownership of Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) company Mohawk Online Limited and operated in the grey market nationwide under a Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) license.

In 2022, the same year that Ontario launched Canada’s first commercial regulated iGaming market, Entain subsidiary Avid Gaming bought the brand for around $300m.

In late 2024, the MCK ended its partnership with Avid, which it said was “due to the change in the regulatory landscape for gaming in Canada and economic reasons.” At that point, Entain took full ownership of the Sports Interaction brand, its Ontario license, and its customer database.

Sports Interaction has held multiple partnerships in Canada, including with ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ and Amazon Prime, as well as several Canadian Football League (CFL) teams including Alberta’s Edmonton Oilers. It has used the likes of Oilers star Leon Draisaitl and former Toronto Maple Leaf Mitch Marner as brand ambassadors in the past.

Play in control with our responsible gaming tools (like Leon Draisaitl)!

👉 https://t.co/s0Hi3K0yxa…@LeonDraisaitl #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/xF9bgrCP5a
— Sports Interaction (@SIASport) October 8, 2024

Which sportsbooks and casinos are licensed in Alberta?

Entain is now one of several multi-brand operator companies active in the regulated Alberta iGaming market, along with the likes of:

Caesars (Caesars Sportsbook & Casino, Caesars Palace Online Casino, and Horseshoe Online Casino)
DraftKings (DraftKings Sportsbook & Casino and Golden Nugget Online Casino)
PENN Entertainment (theScore Bet, theScore Casino, and Hollywood Online Casino)

In total, AGLC has registered more than 50 online gambling sites to do business in the province. Around half of those registrants launched within the first 11 days of the market opening.

Here’s the full list of licensed sites that are currently active in the province, as listed by AiGC: