BetRivers got off to a fast start in Alberta, and Rush Street Interactive (RSI) has moved to secure another advantage in the province’s new iGaming market by partnering with one of Canada’s biggest brick-and-mortar casino companies.
RSI announced on Wednesday that it has signed an exclusive partnership with Gateway Casinos & Entertainment that it describes as currently the only one of its kind in Alberta.
BetRivers, which was one of 22 online gambling sites to launch on day one in Alberta on July 13, will pair up with Gateway’s Edmonton entertainment destinations:
- Grand Villa Casino in the city’s ICE District
- Starlight Casino inside West Edmonton Mall
Gateway casinos to host BetRivers-branded events
A Gateway spokesperson told Canadian Gaming Business that BetRivers’ online gambling offerings and Gateway’s land-based gaming experiences will complement one another and allow each brand to reach a broader range of customers.
In particular, the two companies will collaborate on unique promotions and events starting this summer, including bringing BetRivers brand ambassadors, such as Canadian broadcaster Dan O’Toole and World Series of Poker (WSOP) record-holder Phil Hellmuth, to host events at Gateway properties.
Exclusive experiences will also be on offer through the partnership, such as VIP dinners, special events, and other promotions designed to drive traffic across both BetRivers and Gateway’s brick-and-mortar properties.
The official partnership follows BetRivers’ marketing stunt at West Edmonton Mall around the time of the operator’s Alberta launch in July. The operator said it set a new Guinness World Record for the world’s largest slot machine after O’Toole and BetRivers unveiled a 16-foot-tall gold slot machine in the mall. The ‘BetRivers Gold Rush Experience’ allows adult passers-by to spin it for the chance of winning prizes.
Alberta casinos get in on the iGaming act
Meanwhile, the deal also broadens Gateway’s horizons.
Operational for almost 35 years, Gateway Casinos & Entertainment has 31 gaming properties in British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta. Its proprietary gaming brands across the country include:
- Grand Villa Casino
- Cascades Casino
- Starlight Casino
- Playtime Casino
Gateway has no online gambling operations of its own. While some other Alberta brick-and-mortar operators like PURE Casino Entertainment and River Cree Resort & Casino are extending their own brands into online gambling with new iGaming platforms, Gateway will instead lean on BetRivers as a partner and affiliated brand.
“Gateway has called Alberta home for more than two decades, with our Edmonton properties sitting at the centre of the city’s entertainment scene. Now, through our partnership with BetRivers, that experience doesn’t stop at our doors,” said the company’s CEO Tolek Strukoff. “Whether in person or online, Albertans can enjoy three great places to play.”
BetRivers hits the ground running in Alberta
BetRivers is live with online casino and online sports betting in both Alberta and Ontario’s regulated markets. It was one of the first registered Alberta operators to begin pre-registering customers in early 2026 and went live in the province on day one of the new regulated iGaming market on July 13.
Schwartz said on a recent earnings call that its early weeks in Alberta outperformed its initial rollout in Ontario in 2022 in terms of sign-ups and active users, when adjusting for Alberta’s significantly smaller population. Now, it has an avenue through which to connect to a brick-and-mortar leader and a pre-existing land-based casino customer base.
“Alberta is a market we’ve been preparing for, and our partnership with Gateway lets us welcome players in a way no one else can,” said RSI CEO Richard Schwartz. “By pairing our best-in-class platform with two of Edmonton’s landmark entertainment destinations, we’re giving Albertans more ways to play, more reasons to visit, and more to look forward to as we grow in the province.”
BetRivers also offers online gambling in numerous U.S. states and has several partnerships with land-based casinos and tribal gaming entities south of the border, including online market-access deals and branded retail sportsbooks in various locations.
Now, it has its first affiliation with a brick-and-mortar casino in Canada.
