Alberta will not be launching a regulated online gaming and betting market anytime soon. Certainly not along the timeframe that had initially been touted.
Since Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally announced at SBC’s Canadian Gaming Summit in June that the province would pursue an open-market model similar to Ontario’s, speculation had ramped up over the potential launch date.
Is a 2025 launch still in the cards?
Nally’s Press Secretary Brandon Aboultaif confirmed to Canadian Gaming Business that, while the Minister’s office is still aiming to lay out its gaming plans in detail in 2025, the office needs more time to continue conversations with stakeholders.
“As the gaming industry continues to evolve globally and in Alberta, we want to ensure a conducive business environment, while protecting the health and safety of Albertans, particularly our youth,” said Aboultaif. “We want to get our iGaming strategy right by ensuring fairness and transparency to everyone.
“Industry stakeholders have told us that we need to continue our conversations so they can provide more input on the model. We are doing just that. Further engagements will also help to identify opportunities to align the strategy with our red tape reduction priorities.
“While we aim to put the strategy forward in 2025, we will continue to provide updates as this work unfolds.”
Aspirations proved unrealistic
A frequently mooted potential timeline for launch in Alberta was early 2025, although there were some hopes that the province could be up and running in time for November’s CFL Grey Cup.
Canadian Gaming Association President and CEO Paul Burns told Canadian Gaming Business that while there were “great expectations” about the possibility of a mid-November launch, many people felt from early on that such a timeline was unrealistic given all the moving pieces of the puzzle.
“I think there was a growing concern about just how they were going to get everything done in the time required,” Burns said. “I think the government is evaluating its timelines and making sure they can meet all of the objectives they’re setting out for themselves, and they’re giving themselves a few more months to be able to do the work.”
Alberta advised to stay in touch, learn Ontario lessons
The consultations with Alberta’s First Nations that began in the summer are now completed, but with a vast number of other stakeholder consultations still required as well as decisions and approvals that need to be given at cabinet level, there remains a long way to go.
As expected, the CGA has advised Alberta to replicate significant chunks of the Ontario model, from its tax rate to many of its regulatory standards.
Burns also stressed that as well as replicating areas of Ontario’s own iGaming process, there are also lessons Alberta can learn from that province. One of those is to involve the land-based sector proactively in iGaming discussions from the outset, which many stakeholders have noted is something Ontario could have done much better.
Nally and Co. must also think carefully about the “conduct and manage” aspect of launching a regulated online gaming market. Ontario created a separate entity, iGaming Ontario (iGO), to oversee its gaming operations. It’s still unclear exactly how Alberta intends to proceed on that front, although Nally vowed in June that responsibility for iGaming will be held by the provincial Justice Minister, not Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC).
Burns said the CGA has encouraged Alberta to look at the Ontario Superior Court lawsuit involving the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK), which contained “some of the best language and direction and case law on conduct and manage we’ve ever seen in terms of its plain language and its approach.” That lawsuit ruled against a challenge from MCK which had claimed that iGO’s gaming framework was “illegal and unconstitutional.”
By reviewing that ruling, Burns said he hopes that Alberta can determine a way to reduce the compliance burden on the conduct and manage side. “That really affects bottom lines for operators, and we’re encouraging [Alberta] to evaluate what they can do to make it better.”
What comes next?
Nally will speak as part of a roundtable discussion with operators, suppliers and other stakeholders at G2E in Las Vegas on Oct. 9, where he is expected to discuss the ongoing process.
Ultimately, Burns is adamant about two things: this is a slowdown, not a stop, and it’s in everyone’s best interests.
“The timeline has paused but I don’t believe there’s any less commitment to getting this done,” he concluded. “I just think there’s a very good commitment to getting it right. There’s a lot of work to do. They recognize that, they understand that, and they’re taking more time to get it right. That’s the encouraging part.”
