Posted on: January 20, 2026, 02:08h.
Last updated on: January 20, 2026, 02:08h.
- Alberta iGaming Corporation CEO hints at spring/summer market launch at ICE Barcelona today
- Alberta is said to be a week away from APIs for centralized self-exclusion platform
- Operator contracts said to be drafted over the next four-six weeks
We might be looking at a Spring/Summer launch for Alberta’s new igaming market, according to Dan Keene, Interim CEO, Alberta iGaming Corporation, who hinted at that during a roundtable discussion earlier today at ICE Barcelona.
That’s according to a good industry source, who attended the discussion on the topic of Alberta’s regulatory vision. Keene was “hinting strongly” today that the Alberta government wants the market open by spring or summer, smart since they can then ramp up to the start of the new NFL season, a betting behemoth.
The Alberta iGaming Corporation was set up in the iGaming Alberta Act, or Bill 48, passed by the provincial government last year, cooperate the new igaming market. New operators need to enter into an agreement with Alberta iGaming Corporation after getting a license from Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC).
Right now the only platform where Albertans can legally place an online bet is the government’s PlayAlberta.ca platform. There’s a robust gray market currently operating in Alberta – dozens of legal offshore sportsbooks remain accessible to residents there, not licensed by AGLC. Alberta’s gaming net operating income hit $1.57 billion 2023-24, its highest level in seven years. Albertans love to gamble: 64.6% of Albertans aged 15 or over reported gambling activity in the past year.
Alberta Market Launch Closing in Fast
The source also told us that Keene told industry people in attendance that Alberta is a week away from APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for centralized self-exclusion, and that operator contracts will be drafted over the next four-six weeks. A centralized self-exclusion system was reported last week as being a key foundation of the new igaming market.
The Ontario igaming market has been live for almost four years, and it’s only now there is a talk about a self-exclusion system for players being launched by iGaming Ontario some time this year.
Operator Contracts About to be Drafted
Last week it was reported that Alberta was opening pre-registration for operators looking to enter the market, with the proposed tax rate looking to be 20% on 97% gross gaming revenue (there’s a deduction for First Nations funding and social responsibility initiatives to be applied to GGR before the split happens). So, the actual tax rate ends up being around 22.4%.
In Ontario, operators pay a flat 20% tax on non-adjusted gross gaming revenues.
Operators are also looking at $200,000 fees – a $150,000 annual license fee plus a one-time $50,000 application fee.
A senior industry source told Casino.org operators he was speaking with were a “little put off” with the Alberta government’s plan, and the roll out it. The source felt some operators were “broadsided” with both the higher tax rate as well as the requirement for a SOC audit (a third party independent examination that evaluates security controls and security architecture to protect customer data and systems), which the source told us will add a minimum of a million dollars, maybe $2 million, to market entry costs.
Operators “Broadsided”
“There’s no value, they don’t need a SOC audit,” said the industry source. Most of the European operators the source communicated with said they had never heard of a SOC audit.
“That’s a real cost problem, maybe not for big guys, but for small or medium operators. Taking a million dollars off the top, or $2 million off the top, is really going to hurt them,” he said. “The province was a little disingenuous on the tax rate. The operating tax rate isn’t 20% when you take three points off the top, it’s more like 22.5, so that’s not helpful.”
Operators take a whole laundry list of factors into consideration when deciding whether to go into a jurisdiction.
Alberta’s consultation was pretty weak,” the source said. “They didn’t talk to the operators about the business structure. They talked about RG and centralized self-exclusion, but they never talked to them about all of these costs that they’ve added. They told us it was going to be a 20% tax. That’s not a great way to start. When a government agency tells you trust us, we are going to give you the straight goods, and they don’t, that has everyone feeling a little uneasy.”
FanDuel, BetMGM, theScore Bet, BetRivers, DraftKings and NorthStar Bets are expected to be among the first operators to enter the Alberta market.
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