EDMONTON — As sportsbook titans like Fanduel, Draftkings, and Ceaser's prepare to enter Alberta, the UCP has said legalizing third-party online gambling websites is a way to catch some of the money flooding out of Alberta, but one expert believes it is not that simple. "Alberta's getting into the iGaming markets because of the belief that the level of player and revenue channelization, i.e. the percentage of activity that's occurring on the government site, Play Alberta, is inadequate, and my own independent research actually confirms a lot of that," said Dr. Robert Williams, a professor at the University of Lethbridge in an interview with the Western Standard. .Williams's research specializes in online and problem gambling, and he said Alberta's facing their issue because, compared to other provinces, it was late to join the legalized online gambling party, which meant many consumers turned to offshore third-party websites. "If we could shut the black market and online gambling down, we would, but the fact is that the online gambling industry has been alive and well in Canada for many years," said Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally in an interview with the Western Standard in March. Among the concerns is a significant amount of revenue leaving Alberta via these sites. To help remedy this issue, the UCP introduced new iGaming legislation in May 2025 to legalize third-party online gambling websites in Alberta on July 11, similar to the one established in Ontario in 2022, under which 20% of a company's revenue will go to the Government of Alberta. "The economic consideration is true that Ontario, by introducing these 40 or 50 operators, has now captured most of the online gambling activity in that province," Williams said. The situation is not as rosy as it may seem, though, according to Williams. "The problem is, because the province only keeps 20% of that revenue, and because 85% of these companies are multinationals with headquarters outside of Ontario, a good portion of this over $2.2 billion a year in online gambling revenue likely leaves the country, so it's an economic loss for the province of Ontario," Williams said. Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis reported $234.9 million in sales for Play Alberta in 2024, but they also projected that this represents only about 30% of Alberta's iGaming market. Budget 2026 projected $75 million in revenue from AiGC in the 2026/2027 fiscal year, with that figure ballooning to $109 million per year by 2029."There's no doubt that the provincial government's revenues will go up, but if it follows the pattern of Ontario, there's also no doubt there'll be losses through the Alberta economy," Williams said. .An Angus Reid poll published in May found that 74% of Alberta respondents and 69% of those across Canada were concerned that problem gamblers would increase because of legalized sports betting. "Their concerns that this will increase rates of problems are legitimate, because we independently found that for Ontario," Williams said. "But the caveat to that is that a lot of that occurred because Canadians, and particularly Ontario residents, weren't used to all of this advertising from all of these online operators." Albertans who turn on the TV to watch a Toronto Blue Jays game or any other sporting event can confidently say the barrage of online gambling ads was not confined to Ontario airwaves, though. A follow-up Angus Reid poll published in May found that two-thirds of respondents had seen a sports betting ad recently, with 65% saying they disliked it. Williams believes the already existent familiarization with online gambling and the prevalence of gambling ads will likely help mitigate some, but not all, of the effects of increased gambling ads in Alberta. "I do expect there will be some small uptick in problems because of the advertising you get when you have 28, or however many companies competing for your online activity," Williams said. .Nally said another reason for Alberta's new iGaming strategy is the ability to better regulate these companies' advertising. Those regulations include bans on targeting or aiming their campaigns towards vulnerable Albertans, such as children and individuals with problem gambling habits, and not allowing athletes to be used in advertisements. Though imperfect, Williams applauds the advertising regulations as they look to protect the two groups of individuals most affected by gambling advertisements: those who have a history of gambling problems and are trying to control it, and young people. "It's quite important," Williams said. "It's not the amount of advertising so much as who's doing the advertising. So, banning professional athletes or anyone who's seen as a role model by young people is a very positive move, so that will help the younger segment for sure." He is also pleased to see Alberta's increased emphasis on self-exclusion tools that allow individuals to either temporarily or permanently step away from both online and in-person gambling. "Self-exclusion is a useful tool, and we've done cross-Canada studies showing that amongst all the different responsible gambling tools that people use, it is actually one of the more effective ones, Williams said. "That being said, it's not a panacea; it doesn't stop the problem. The issue is there's 5000 online gambling sites, and there's no ISP blockers that would prevent someone who's self-excluded from the 28 Alberta sites from going to the 4500 sites elsewhere." .According to Williams, another useful tool is an automated algorithm that identifies risky gambling, alerts individuals to potentially problematic play, and offers them the opportunity to self-exclude. Alberta's iGaming strategy will require companies to implement gambling restrictions, such as limits on how much an individual can bet and notifications about how much time they have spent using the service. Along with requiring businesses to send users a monthly statement on their winnings/losses. Despite all of the concerns, Williams does not believe the impact of Alberta's new strategy will be as severe as some Albertans fear. "The fact of the matter is that, I mean, the motivation for this is the fact that people are already gambling on these offshore sites, and so now you're just legitimizing a subset of them," Williams said. "So, it's not going to be as dramatic as people think, and again, the most dramatic thing was the sudden increase in advertising, which they are already been exposed to. "His advice to Albertans who dip their toe into the online gambling world. "Gamble responsibly, and realize that if you think that gambling is a good way of making money, you're wrong," Williams said.
