As multiple Alberta casinos prepare to expand into iGaming when the province’s market opens next month, the province’s regulator has clarified where it stands on brick-and-mortar casinos advertising online gambling.
In an AGLC bulletin issued on Tuesday, June 9, Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis (AGLC) confirmed that it has updated its Casino Terms & Conditions and Operating Guidelines (CTCOG) to state that casino facility licensees “must not advertise or offer inducements on behalf of a registered iGaming operator”.
In essence, that serves as confirmation that land-based casinos in the province will be held to the same standards as commercial iGaming operators who enter the new market, which is due to launch on July 13.
Alberta borrows Ontario’s approach
AGLC’s iGaming regulations ban advertising for inducements such as sign-up bonuses, no-sweat bets, and other promotional credits, unless they are advertised on an operator’s site or sent directly to players who have opted in to receive such marketing.
That rule, which was borrowed from Ontario’s four-year-old online gambling market, means that bettors must visit an operator’s site or app if they want to see any sign-up offers or promotions, unless they opt in for further promotional and marketing communications.
The AGLC standards update also now stipulates that casinos will not be able to tie the province’s ‘Winner’s Edge‘ retail casino rewards program to separate sportsbook operations or iGaming offers or promotions.
Alberta wants land-based casinos to dive into iGaming
Currently, AGLC’s own Play Alberta is the only government-approved online gambling site in the province. Land-based casinos can offer slots, table games, and more in their brick-and-mortar venues through agreements with AGLC, but iGaming is strictly AGLC’s own domain.
Not for much longer, as the province is opening its doors to dozens of commercial online casinos and sportsbooks on July 13.
Alberta’s iGaming regulations allow for brick-and-mortar casinos to partner with registered iGaming operators on things such as retail sportsbooks at their land-based locations. In those instances, casino licensees will get to keep 75% of the net gaming revenue from their sportsbook operations, and AGLC confirmed to Canadian Gaming Business that the province’s regular advertising policies for casinos will apply to partner retail sportsbooks.
Alberta’s minister responsible for iGaming, Dale Nally, said recently that he hopes to see “as many land-based operators in Alberta participating in the online space [as possible].” However, he stressed that Alberta gaming authorities did not want to mandate that online casinos must be tied to a land-based casino through a revenue-sharing partnership.
That kind of approach is utilized in some U.S. states — particularly where tribal gaming interests are prominent, as is the case in Alberta — but does not marry well with Alberta’s open-market iGaming model. More than 40 Alberta iGaming operator sites are registered with AGLC already.
“It’s up to [land-based casinos] to decide how they participate,” Nally said during a fireside chat at SBC Summit Canada 2026 in Toronto last month. “Do they have a partnership with an online casino? Do they form their own that will sort of evolve organically?
“Our approach will always be individual personal choice and individual responsibility, and that is best defined by an open market, and you don’t have an open market if you force online operators to tie themselves to land-based casinos. So we didn’t want to go that approach.
“But we are certainly encouraging land-based operators to participate in the space, and we also want to see First Nations in Alberta participating in the online gaming space.”
Multiple First Nations casinos register for iGaming
Some First Nations-run casinos have already signaled their intent.
Alongside big names of online gambling like FanDuel, DraftKings, bet365, BetMGM, and theScore Bet, multiple Indigenous-owned brick-and-mortar casino operators in Alberta have registered to offer their own iGaming brands.
Pure Casino Entertainment, which owns four Alberta casinos and also recently announced a deal to acquire Gamehost Inc.‘s portfolio of three casinos and multiple hotels, is listed as an iGaming licensee. Another approved operator is River Cree iGaming, the upcoming online gambling arm of River Cree Resort and Casino in the Greater Edmonton Area.
Pure has begun sending out broad-spectrum email blasts in recent weeks to tease the upcoming launch of its iGaming arm.
Casinos can send out marketing like this for their online gambling operations; they just can’t bombard existing or would-be users with direct incentives to gamble like sign-up offers.
Alberta continues to tweak gaming rules
The June 9 casino advertising update is not the first time AGLC has tweaked its regulations in the lead-up to Alberta’s iGaming launch.
In February, AGLC updated its casino rules to stipulate that all brick-and-mortar casinos must be able to electronically connect to the province’s centralized self-exclusion platform. It also announced in March that it will not allow election betting or wagering on other political events.
In March, AGLC made a further substantial update to its casino operating guidelines, laying out numerous rules for how land-based venues can offer retail sports betting in Alberta, including capping an individual in-person sports or event bet at a maximum of $1,000.
