The Stake brand is coming to Alberta’s regulated iGaming market.
Stake Canada, a subsidiary of Australian companies Stake Gaming and Easygo Group, received iGaming operator registration from Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis (AGLC) on Thursday, Sept. 24.
“We’re a registered operator as of today and we expect that licensing and an operating agreement are not too far behind,” Stake Canada General Manager Kris Abbott told Canadian Gaming Business by phone. “We’ve gone through the process and it’s been a good one.
“I have to commend the regulator in Alberta, from the government to the AGLC to the [Alberta iGaming Corporation]. They’ve done a great job putting the market together, and by all accounts it’s going well. We’re excited to join.”
Stake pursues regulated markets
Stake Canada uses the branding of one of the world’s largest online gambling companies. An offshore Curaçao-based Stake.com platform, also owned by Easygo, currently offers online casino and sports betting in the unregulated market across Canada.
The parent company has been pursuing regulated market expansion for the Stake brand in recent times, with launches in places like Denmark, Italy, and Mexico. Stake Canada was formed as a separate Canadian entity to focus on entering regulated Canadian markets. Until this summer, that constituted only Ontario, which launched commercial iGaming in 2022.
Alberta opened its own regulated iGaming market on July 13. AGLC’s rules gave grey-market operators a three-month grace period on a select case-by-case basis to transition to the licensed, regulated market. That cutoff date is fast approaching, on Oct. 13.
Like all Alberta operators, once it obtains a full AGLC license, Stake Canada will need to sign an operating agreement with the market’s conduct-and-manage agency AiGC before it can start taking bets.
“We applied for the transition extension back in July, when we were still waiting to finalize our platform and get certified,” added Abbott, who previously led Canadian operations for brands including Coolbet and Kaizen Gaming’s Betano. “We got that three-month extension and we’ve been able to get everything done in the interim.
“That looming deadline is only a few weeks away, but we believe we should be in good shape to meet that. It’s a robust application process, and we’ve had a good time working with the AGLC and the AIGC. Our team’s been able to meet these deadlines, and it’s looking like it should be a good story for us.”
Stake Canada still awaiting Ontario approval
Stake Canada also hopes to soon be in Ontario.
The operator has a pending license application with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) to enter that province. Accessing the Stake.ca website prompts a message that it is coming soon in Ontario, as well as Alberta. Until then, it is not available to users in Canada’s most populous province.
Stake Canada was initially planning to launch with a third-party platform to hasten its entry, but has since pivoted to focusing on using the company’s own technology for its Ontario platform.
“Ontario has been a bit of a stop-start process,” noted Abbott. “It took a bit longer to get a platform built and certified and everything that goes along with that, but that was all completed earlier this year,’ added Abbott. “So we’ve kind of been on pause in Ontario for a bit while we did that, and now our application is in front of the AGCO.
“We believe we’ve submitted everything that’s required, and we expect to hear back from them at some point soon. But we don’t have any indication on timelines in Ontario.”
In the meantime, if all goes to plan, Stake Canada’s sportsbook and casino will be available in Alberta in the coming weeks. When it does launch, it will join more than 30 licensed iGaming sites already live in the province. Other previously grey-market operators are also expected to launch in Alberta’s new market in line with the Oct. 13 transition deadline, including Bet99 and Super Group’s Betway.
