Industry experts are waiting expectantly for Alberta to follow in Ontario's footsteps by announcing regulated offshore gambling in the province. Despite the noteworthy revenue boost this would bring, the government refuses to provide a timeline.
Online gambling in Canada mirrors the approach taken in other countries like Australia. It is legal for Canadian residents to sign up and gamble online with international offshore casinos, even if they do not hold a Canadian license. The only restrictions that are in place for unlicensed gambling sites are that they may not host their servers or have a business presence in Canada.
Each province in Canada, however, retains the right to determine what it deems to be legal or illegal gambling and implement the laws they feel best serve those definitions.
Ontario: Canada’s Shining Star
Ontario has proven to be one of the country's most successful online gambling jurisdictions. Since April 2022, it has licensed more than 70 online casinos and sports betting providers, allowing its residents access to some of the best gambling sites in the world.
With each of these entities being locally licensed, Ontarians can gamble online with the peace of mind that comes from knowing that should they have any concerns or feel they are being unfairly treated, they have legal recourse within their local government.
The latest report by iGaming Ontario, the local Ontario gambling regulator, showed that from July 1 through September 30, 2023, the industry generated $540 million in gaming revenue from $14.2 billion in wagers. This is an incredible success story for a region where, traditionally, that revenue would have flowed out of the country.
Alberta: All Noise, No Action
One of the other provinces that has been teasing the launch of its gambling act has been Alberta. While Alberta is a third the size of Ontario, it has shown an almost equitable annual growth rate and boasts a yearly GDP per capita of more than $80,000 compared to Ontario's $62,000. This means that the province holds the potential to generate meaningful income from regulated online gambling.
At present, the online regulated online gambling provided by the Albertan government is its state-run operation, PlayAlberta. Back in July, the Danielle Smith-led government had stated that it was “working with Indigenous partners to finish developing and implementing Alberta's online gaming strategy with a focus on responsible gaming and provincial and Indigenous revenue generation”.
Despite having had several months to draft a proposal, especially with Ontario's very successful blueprint readily available, Alberta Lt. Gov. Salma Lakhani did not mention regulated online gambling for the province in his recent speech.
When pressed by Gaming News Canada to provide an update on the promised iGaming initiative, the office replied that “no timelines have yet been established for finalising and implementing Alberta’s new online gaming strategy”, which is disappointing when you consider that Albertans spend approximately $380 million per year at unlicensed casinos and sports books.
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