The Alberta government’s timeline for launching a competitive market for online sports betting and internet casino gambling has recently become a lot more fuzzy – including for the companies that plan on participating.
PENN Entertainment Inc. CEO Jay Snowden said in August that while they didn’t have an exact launch date for Alberta, “the end of this year, early 2025, is kind of the rough timeframe.”
But Snowden’s tune has changed along with that of the Alberta government. The province recently decided to push back its plans and now wants to pass iGaming-focused legislation before the wagering with private-sector operators can legally begin.
So, while PENN remains bullish about the opportunity Alberta sports betting presents – partly because of the results the operator has seen with its theScore Bet brand in another Canadian province, Ontario – the Wyomissing, Pennsylvania-based company’s new timeframe is arguably even rougher.
“It certainly has moved into 2025,” Snowden said last week during a call for analysts and investors. “We'll wait on the government, the regulators there, to tell us exactly when the go-live launch would be.”
Nobody knows nothing
PENN (which also operates ESPN BET in the U.S.) is one of several iGaming companies keen on Alberta. It’s not alone, either, in its uncertainty about the launch of the province’s new iGaming market, which would be the second in Canada to welcome private-sector operators after Ontario did so in April 2022.
The subject of Alberta came up during Chicago-based Rush Street Interactive Inc.’s third-quarter earnings call on Oct. 31. The BetRivers-owner is eyeing expansion opportunities in North and South America, one of which would be Alberta whenever it goes live.
RSI CEO Richard Schwartz said during their call that the province would launch “hopefully in later next year.”
So, in short, nobody knows for sure when Alberta will launch its new iGaming market. All we do know is that it is happening later than was expected – and hopefully next year – as well as that operators are still interested in participating when they can.
The interest in Alberta is due in no small part to the province’s plan to enact an Ontario-like model for iGaming. There is not expected to be a limit on the number of private-sector operators, which will also be free to offer online sports betting and online casino gambling in a market with a population similar to that of Kentucky and Oregon.
First, however, the market must launch. Before doing so, the Alberta government wants to introduce “enabling” legislation, which will form part of the arrangement for allowing companies like BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel to offer online sports betting, slots, and table games.
Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally (aka the iGaming minister) said during a G2E panel that he hopes if he’s back in Vegas a year from now he’ll be talking about their competitive sports betting/iGaming market, getting props from operators for easy access.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) October 9, 2024
After the legislation is passed, the regulations of the new market must be finalized. Details such as advertising rules and the share of revenue that operators must pay the province are still up in the air.
In the meantime, the Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis Commission has a legal monopoly on iGaming in the province via its Play Alberta brand.
“Once we do the spring legislation, then we’ll write the regulation,” Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally told Covers last month. “So anytime thereafter. In fairness, I can’t tell you it’s going to be August, September, October, November, but I’m pretty confident that we’re going to be able to say 2025 we’ll be able to offer a legal, regulated space for iGaming.”
