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Hear ye, hear ye: Alberta's government is moving forward with plans for a competitive market for online sports wagering and internet-based casino gambling in the province.

The province released a so-called "order in council" on June 4 proclaiming that essential sections of Bill 48, the iGaming Alberta Act, entered force the same day.

Bill 48 contains the legal framework for Alberta's planned iGaming market.

The market needs to launch late this year or in early 2026 and include multiple private-sector participants, such as DraftKings and FanDuel.

Bottom line

- Alberta's federal government announced key components of Bill 48, the iGaming Alberta Act, into force.

• The move brings Alberta closer to the launch of an Ontario-like, competitive online gambling market, where private-sector operators come under provincial policy and offer online sports wagering and internet gambling establishment video games.
• The Alberta legislature approved Bill 48 in May however the provincial cabinet required to proclaim it into impact.
  
  Alberta's legislature passed Bill 48 in May and it was awaiting proclamations like the one issued recently.
  
  Now, by proclaiming parts of the legislation into effect, Alberta's federal government took a crucial action towards launching an Ontario-like, competitive iGaming market.
  
  While details such as advertising rules still require to be identified, the federal government also needs Bill 48 and its provisions in force.
  
  Without the law, the Alberta online casino and sports wagering status quo would remain intact, and government-owned Play Alberta would stay the province's sole licensed option for online betting
  
  The site currently contends for business versus online sportsbooks and casinos that may be managed abroad or outside the province, however not by the province itself.
  
  Bill 48 would authorize private-sector competition, including from some operators that may currently take bets in Alberta, and place it under provincial regulation.
  
  "We're not trying to grow the market or create new bettors in Alberta," said Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally, Bill 48's sponsor, on May 7. "Our goal is to implement a regulated market for personal business to legally operate online gaming websites where safeguards are in place, consumers are safeguarded, and market stability and social duty are top of mind."
  
  Among other things, last Wednesday's order in council announced into force areas of Bill 48 that establish and govern the brand-new "Alberta iGaming Corporation."
  
  It's through the government-owned corporation that online gambling operators will access to the province's brand-new managed market.
  
  For example, among Bill 48's sections now in force states" [a] corporation to be known as the Alberta iGaming Corporation, or by such other name as may be prescribed by the regulations, is established."
  
  Another section now in effect says the corporation will "develop, carry out, arrange, carry out and manage online lottery plans on behalf of the Government of Alberta."
  
  The term "lottery game scheme" describes a variety of betting activities, consisting of legal sports betting and table games.
  
  In other words, however, the brand-new iGaming corporation will be the centrepiece of Alberta's brand-new competitive market for online gaming. The agency is the entity private-sector bookies could sign running contracts or other contracts with outlining their duties and licensing them to take bets in the province.
  
  This is what happened with Ontario sports betting, as the government developed a similar iGaming corporation that's now contracted with around 50 operators.
  
  The new Alberta sports betting market is being modeled after the one in Ontario, which became the very first Canadian province in 2022 to allow several private-sector operators to take bets.
  
  Alberta and Ontario are so far the only provinces to pursue this sort of competitive design; most Canadian jurisdictions choose to give government-owned entities legal iGaming monopolies.
  
  "With [Bill 48], we will create a brand-new provincial corporation called the Alberta iGaming corporation to perform and handle iGaming operations in the personal market," Nally said last month. "We would likewise designate Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis as the iGaming market regulator and develop proper government oversight to support the stability of this market."
  
  Indeed, another of Bill 48's arrangements now in effect is that the provincial government may make guidelines "expanding or clarifying the mandate of, or the powers, tasks or functions to be exercised or carried out by, the [Alberta iGaming Corporation]"
  
  The corporation's mandate also includes promoting "responsible video gaming with regard to online lotto schemes."
  
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