Alberta will open its online gambling market in a regulated form starting 13 July 2026, with provincial authorities announcing that 28 operators have secured approval or have already entered the licencing process. The move will make Alberta only the second Canadian province to establish a fully regulated commercial iGaming market after Ontario opened its doors in 2022.
The latest registration list released by the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC) includes several of the largest gambling brands operating across North America, among them FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, BetRivers, Caesars Sportsbook, BallyBet, PointsBet Canada and theScore Bet. Government-run platform PlayAlberta will also remain active alongside private-sector operators.
The market is expected to feature a mix of sportsbooks, online casinos, and poker products from the opening day. Some companies are preparing to introduce multiple brands at once to strengthen their market share early.
Big names plan early access
Caesars, for example, plans to launch Caesars Sportsbook alongside Caesars Palace Online and Horseshoe Online Casino. Bally’s Canada is preparing both BallyBet Sportsbook and Casino, as well as Monopoly Casino and Sportsbook. DraftKings is also expected to combine its sportsbook and casino products with Golden Nugget Online Gaming offerings.
For players looking ahead to what the regulated landscape may offer, resources highlighting top-rated online casinos for Canadians already provide a useful benchmark for the standards and variety consumers can expect as Alberta’s market takes shape.
FanDuel, which is part of Flutter Entertainment, is looking to move beyond sports betting by bringing its PokerStars brand to the FanDuel platform. BetMGM is also expected to offer poker alongside its sportsbook and casino products when it enters the market. One of the bigger questions observers are watching is whether Alberta will adopt a shared liquidity model for poker, similar to Ontario’s.
On the domestic side, a handful of Canadian-owned operators are also making their way into Alberta’s regulated market. BET99, Betty Gaming, CasinoTime, River Cree iGaming and Pure Casino Entertainment are all listed on the latest AGLC registration document, signalling that local players see real opportunity in what the province is building.
Big brands still absent
However, many operators are still absent from the current list are companies such as bet365, GGPoker, 888 and NorthStar Gaming, despite previous reports suggesting some had explored entering the province. Regulators have indicated more operators may still join after the market officially opens.
Alongside gambling operators, Alberta has also approved 22 critical gaming suppliers responsible for technology, payment systems and gaming infrastructure. The supplier list includes international firms such as IGT and Light & Wonder, both of which already support major online gambling operations across several regulated markets.
Alberta’s provincial government is projecting that a regulated online gambling market could bring in around CAD $100 million ($73 million) in tax revenue each year. The thinking is that bringing things under a formal framework would also pull players away from the offshore and grey-market sites many Canadians currently use. The province has been working on this for months, drawing heavily from how Ontario set up its own system, which now has more than 30 operators up and running.
The timing of the launch is notable. Alberta’s market is set to open just before the World Cup final on 19 July 2026 at MetLife Stadium, with the CFL season already in full swing by then. A number of operators have already started pre-registration campaigns, clearly hoping to ride the wave of interest those events are expected to bring.
However, not everyone is welcoming the change. First Nations casino groups have raised concerns that easier access to online gambling could eat into revenues at land-based community casinos. There are also broader questions about how the province plans to keep pace with responsible gambling measures as competition across Canada’s digital betting space continues to heat up.
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