Alberta explores iGaming with new draft proposal

• Albertan minister is looking to invite offshore bookmakers and iGaming companies in
• The black market must be eradicated, argues Dale Nally, Service Alberta Minister
• His new piece of legislation is setting a path forward for Alberta to follow in Ontario’s footsteps

Alberta may become the second province in Canada to embrace iGaming in full, opening the sluicegates for private operators.

The provincial government has pitched Bill 48, called the iGaming Alberta Act, which will seek to end the monopoly enjoyed by the locally run PlayAlberta.ca website and allow third-party operators to similarly pursue licenses.

Alberta seeks to open the door for well-established offshore gaming companies

The idea is to offer brands such as Bodog and Bet365 the chance to enter the regulated market and start contributing tax. Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally filed the bill and has backed it with several arguments.

He argued that the bill would bring the industry up to a standard aligned with the best global practices and cited Ontario as a successful example of iGaming regulation gone right. Nally further noted that black market operations must be limited and altogether defeated.

To do this, the province needs to distinguish between black and grey market operations. Nally argues that certain brands are keen to enter the market and pay tax if offered the chance. Bet365 is a likely entrant, for example, as the company is already available offshore but notobligated by state tax to pay.

Black market operators, on the other hand, Nally explained, were those companies that would not be willing to enter the provincial market and subject themselves to stricter regulatory rules and, hence, need to have limited influence in the iGaming market.

iGaming Alberta Act to meet growing demand for online gambling

More importantly, Nally noted that the prevalence of offshore gambling was already high, and he cautioned that even if the iGaming Alberta Act was defeated in the current legislative session, this would not stop the fact that demand for iGaming is growing as a whole.

In the lack of regulated licensed websites, however, this demand is going to the same black-market operators the minister has been sounding the alarm over. Presently, PlayAlberta.ca is not able to satisfy the demand for products that locals seek, as many are already playing offshore.

By one estimate, Albertans wagered more than C$378m every year on various offshore gambling sites.

"If we can capture those revenues and we can repatriate some of those dollars back into Alberta we’ll have the funds to be able to help and support Albertans," Nally argued, confident that the future of a successful iGaming market lies in a licensee-based model which will involve private companies that are already available to local players.

Image credit: Unsplash.com