Alberta Passes iGaming Act to Expand Sports Betting Market

• The Alberta iGaming bill passed out of the Committee of the Whole
• The bill was then approved on third reading
• No amendments to the legislation were approved

Service Alberta Minister Dave Nally’s Bill 48: the iGaming Alberta Act, has been approved on third reading.

The Alberta iGaming bill yesterday passed out of the Committee of the Whole with no amendments and was then approved on third reading.

The legislation will become legal after likely receiving Royal Assent from Lieutenant Governor Salma Lakhani.

Approval Likely Incoming

The bill was moved out of the Committee of the Whole with no amendments and approved late Wednesday night.

Nally’s bill will allow multiple private-sector operators to do business in Alberta, allowing those operating in the gray market to license themselves in the province. It also establishes the Alberta iGaming Corporation to regulate, license, and oversee the operations of iGaming.

PlayAlberta is currently the only legal Alberta sports betting app and regulated iGaming site in the province, it is not necessarily the only operator currently in the province. A number of operators are currently offering gaming in Alberta as part of the gray market, where they offer their games to Canadian sports bettors and customers but the government collects no tax revenues from their services.

Last week, members of the New Democratic Party (NDP) introduced several amendments to Nally’s act, most of which centered around responsible gaming safeguards.

The changes were quickly defeated by a 38-16 vote, however, as the controlling United Conservative Party members expressed their desires that responsible gaming practices be included in the province’s sports betting regulations, not its laws.

Likely 2026 Launch

After being signed into law, Alberta’s iGaming expansion will launch in the first quarter of 2026. Nally has shied away from providing launch estimates, but said he did hope everything would launch during this timeframe.

During FanDuel’s recent Q1 earnings call, CEO Peter Jackson said the company is expecting an Alberta launch in early 2026 as well.

A number of steps are still necessary for launch, as Alberta lawmakers will have to determine additional sports betting rules for the expanded markets, sports betting advertising restrictions, and settle on finalized revenue sharing details.

Ontario is currently the only province in Canada that allows multiple regulated iGaming and sports betting operators. Ontario currently has 49 registered iGaming operators in the province. It taxes iGaming and sports betting at a rate of 20%.