Will Alberta’s Online Gambling Launch Motivate Other Provinces to Follow Suit?

Alberta’s expanded online gambling market is open as of today, July 13, 2026. In making the shift, it joins Ontario as one of only two provinces to welcome private operators into their regulated markets.

The expansion of online gambling in Alberta, which comes four years after Ontario first took the plunge, may prompt Canada’s other eight provinces and three territories to follow. It is a common dynamic in the US, where states are often motivated to pass their own laws after watching their neighbors establish regulated markets and begin collecting tax revenues.

Alberta’s ‘Strong Potential’ May Nudge Other Jurisdictions 

Alberta will be a “strong but important market“, Straight to the Point’s Steve Ruddock wrote in his July 9 newsletter.

As the province of nearly five million launches, almost 50 operators have applied to Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) for a license, many of which are live on day one. Among them are big-name brands already operating in Ontario and the US, including BetMGM, bet365, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Lesser-known brands like Betty and PureCasino are also in the mix.

Despite Alberta’s smaller population (Ontario’s is about 16 million), revised projections from H2 Gambling Capital suggest that Alberta will generate about C$850 million in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in its first fiscal year. In its first year, Ontario’s regulated market generated gross gaming revenues of just over $1.48 billion. 

Analysts Predict Alberta Will Bring in Substantial Revenues 

Alberta’s GGR will rise to C$1.7 billion in the province’s second year of regulation, totalling nearly C$2.8 billion in fewer than two calendar years, according to H2 projections. Of that, just over 20% will flow back as tax revenue, including 2% allocated to First Nations and 1% to problem gambling supports. 

H2 also expects that Alberta’s regulated market will shift more activity from offshore sites to regulated platforms, from 32% today to 87%. This projection aligns with an Ipsos study that suggests over 90% of Ontario residents gambled on regulated sites in the most recent year. That’s an increase of more than 7 percentage points over the previous year’s result.

While Ontario will remain Canada’s largest market, H2 says “Alberta shows strong potential, particularly on a per capita basis.” This strength, H2 says, positions Alberta as a “major growth opportunity in Canada’s evolving regulated iGaming landscape.”

That potential, and its possible impact on provincial monopolies, must be on the radar of provincial governments and their operators.

Provincial Lotteries Lose Players to Unregulated Competition 

Certainly, other provinces and territories have been having a rough go of online gambling. While revenues are growing, there’s still a lot of activity happening offshore.

In June, British Columbia’s Finance Minister reported that the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) has captured just over half of the province’s online gambling market.

“We estimate that BCLC has captured half — 51 percent is our estimate — of the online gambling market in BC,” Minister Brenda Bailey said.

Similarly, in early 2025, Loto-Québec President Jean-François Bergeron admitted the lottery captures only about 50% of the online gambling market.

A lobby group pushing Quebec to adopt an open market says the province is losing over $300 million in annual tax revenue to offshore sites. In addition to the revenue loss, the operator-driven Québec Online Gambling Coalition argues that Quebecers using illegal sites are unprotected.

Further, according to the Atlantic Lottery Corporation’s (ALC) 2024-25 Annual Report, the regional lottery captures only about 34% of the online gambling market across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. That paltry result represents a 12% increase over 2023-24’s channelization. 

ALC CEO Dallas McCready told the gambling media in 2025 that the regional operator is open to competing in an Ontario-style market.

“I think the government recognizes that some people are making the decision to play on illegal sites,” McCready said. 

“There are conversations recognizing that activity, and at some point, we’re hoping they’ll allow us to compete. But it’s a decision of the policymakers and what they think is best for their people. It’s really not my place to question or challenge that.”

Gaining intra-governmental consensus on such a shift would likely be a time-intensive process, particularly in PEI, which has yet to allow online casinos.

Provinces Taking Wait-and-See Approach

Gambling Insider contacted BCLC, ALC, Loto-Québec, and Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries (MLL) for comment on the expected impacts of Alberta’s launch. We also asked about current openness to competition in their own markets. 

BCLC declined to comment, directing us instead to the BC Ministry of Finance. 

In an email, the Ministry said that the province is continuing to “monitor developments,” but is not yet changing the model.

It also reiterated that BCLC’s PlayNow.com is “the only legal online gambling website in BC and represents the fastest-growing part of its business.”

As of publication, neither ALC nor Loto-Québec responded. Nor did the Québec Online Gambling Coalition, Nova Scotia’s Department of Finance and Treasury Board, or the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation.

MLL directed questions to Molly Cormier, executive director of the Canadian Lottery Coalition (CLC). 

The CLC is a pan-Canadian alliance of provincial lottery corporations whose mandate is to advance a Canadian gambling market that prioritizes player health. The coalition believes this requires “strong, enforceable laws that clearly distinguish legal gambling from illegal and unregulated offerings. It also seeks to ensure provincially regulated lotteries continue to provide “social and economic benefit” to their local communities.

CLC Weighs in With Statement

In an email to Gambling Insider, Cormier said that, despite contrary characterizations, the CLC’s mandate goes beyond market-expansion debates. Rather, she said, “the Coalition exists to advance priorities that remain important regardless of the market model.” 

These priorities, Cormier added, include player health, helping Canadians distinguish between legal and illegal offshore sites, and ensuring that regulated gambling continues to deliver public benefits to communities.

Citing recent research into the negative impacts of Ontario’s commercial expansion, Cormier said the CLC believes evaluating success must consider “broader public-interest outcomes” in addition to market growth and participation.

“Regardless of the licensing model a province chooses, we believe the key measure of success should be whether the framework effectively protects consumers, reduces gambling-related harm, combats unauthorized gambling activity, and ensures gaming serves the public interest. This includes addressing operators that may be licensed in one jurisdiction but are targeting players in provinces where they are not authorized to operate.”

As for speculation into which provinces may or may not follow Ontario and Alberta, the CLC says “those decisions are matters for provincial governments.” 

“We would not speculate on future policy choices, but we do believe governments should carefully consider the full range of consumer protection, public safety and social-impact considerations when evaluating gambling market frameworks.”

Read the full text of CLC’s statement here.