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A daily podcast delving into the biggest stories of the day throughout the sports betting and igaming sector.
Charlie Horner (00:01.654)
It's been three years in the making, but Alberta is officially open for business. Today, Alberta has become the second province in Canada to open a privatised online sports betting and casino market, and it feels like a real landmark moment for the North American industry. So, who's entering Alberta? What are the rules? And how big could this new market be? Welcome back to iGaming Daily, supported by Optimove, the pos the creator of positionless marketing and
The number one player engagement solution for sports betting and iGaming Operators. I'm Charlie Horner and today it feels appropriate that we should get Tom Nightingale, editor of Canadian Gaming Business on the show. Tom, how's things? This is a a big moment for you, right?
Tom Nightingale (00:45.352)
It is a big moment, yeah. I mean it's been literally years in the making. Sounds like a cliche, but it's very very true. I think it was late twenty twenty three or early twenty twenty four when Alberta's Alberta's premier, Danielle Smith, asked Minister Dale Nally, who's a n a name we've become very familiar with, to cover in Canadian gaming, basic asked the minister to sort of explore, I guess, the best path to launching regulated online gambling.
So we're talking comfortably two and a half years really since the wheels started turning. And we're finally there. Yeah, today's the day.
Charlie Horner (01:24.27)
Fantastic. Well I will I will do a bit of a shout out for some of the reporting that you've been doing on Canadian Gaming Business because this is it has been a long time coming and there's been a lot of details and a lot of a lot of hurdles in the road along the way. So people should go and check out Canadian Gaming Business and and see some of the reporting that Tom's done on this. But I feel like we should chronicle some of those hurdles and the journey that that that Alberta's been on to get to this point because
there were some lofty ambitions at the start, I think it's fair to say, and you know, it wasn't as plain sailing as some people clearly thought it was going to be. So how about Tom, you you give us a bit of a history lesson? What what was the journey like?
Tom Nightingale (02:07.786)
It's interesting, I d I d I I s I don't really know if I would use the word hurdles per se. I think it's more sort of processes and and you know I I don't have the you know, I I'm sure that different people probably tell it in different ways, but I think basically what happened is that they decided they want to do it. They just they looked to Ontario, obviously Canadian
Canada's only regulated commercial online gambling market, so kind of the only, you know, the only co the only example at least in Canada to look at. Ontario speak to most people, they'll say it's been pretty successful on all fronts. Operators like it, suppliers like it, regulators like it. so there was the blueprint for you. And I think then the government sort of got a little ahead of themselves and thought, well, we'll we'll sort of you know, you were hearing it's not going to be a copy and paste of out of of Ontario, but I think they were thinking we will replicate this. We can
get this up and running pretty quickly. At one point, I think like early 2025 was thrown around as a potential launch date, which now seems crazy in July 2026. but the reason I say I'm not sure it's really hurdles is because the key thing to know here I think is that the delays that have happened and there have been multiple sort of distinct delays in the launch date.
by all accounts have happened because of the consultation with industry. You know, operators have said we would like a little bit more time to get ready for this. you know, the Canadian Gaming Association, I spoke to Paul Burns, a while ago now, more than a year ago, I think. after
Alberta had just said, We're gonna pump the brakes and push the launch date back a little bit, T B D. and he was saying this is he th he thought this was a really good thing because frankly he didn't think that they'd have been you know, the the government or the industry would have been ready had Alberta gone ahead, you know, as soon as it wanted to. So I think it was a f it was, you know, it was a certainly to an extent it was about due diligence and making sure that
Tom Nightingale (04:06.026)
this is done in the right way. Cause the la I wha what I would say as well as I think the last thing that you want or the last thing the industry wants is to sort of rush into launching commercial online gambling in Alberta, it not sort of
go well or you know it not the the province not be ready and maybe they didn't have the player protection measures in place and all this sort of stuff. And then you get a lot of sort of bad press about rise in gambling activity and that sort of stuff. I mean, let's be frank, in certain corners that's still gonna happen. It's happened in Ontario. but I think they just wanted to make sure the industry and the government wanted to make sure they took their time, did this, you know, as much as possible, did this the right way.
Charlie Horner (04:46.098)
Yeah, well one hundred percent and I I certainly agree with you on that on that final point. You don't want to get it wrong and then sort of feel the wrath of the press and the public affairs groups, which y you say Ontario did. And Ontario is it is the gold standard for a new market launch, essentially, with in terms of that regulatory framework, it it it is spoken about around the world as as somewhere that that is a bit of a blueprint. So
Tom Nightingale (05:10.412)
Yeah.
Just a j just a point on Ontario, th that's that's exactly right.
Charlie Horner (05:15.694)
Sure.
Tom Nightingale (05:17.012)
And what's interesting in Ontario is that obviously Ontario was the first commercial, you know, open, you know, competitive eye gaming, whatever word you want to use, i g eye gaming market in Canada. And there was a real noticeable delay in the sort of mainstream media and public response to that happening. Because it's only really been in the last couple of years. You know, Ontario now is four years old, getting on for four and a half years old as a market. It's only really been in the last couple of years that you've started to see this swell of public concern about the
Number of sports betting adverts that are out there, you know, rising calls to gambling helplines and stuff, which frankly, these are all things that I would argue you would expect to happen if you suddenly w welcome in, you know, dozens of operators. So I will say Alberta should be braced for similar, similar response, I would say, from
certain groups and, you know, even from the public really, because it's a big, big change going from one government platform to well, we'll talk about it in a little bit, to a lot of commercial platforms.
Charlie Horner (06:20.108)
Yeah, before we do do that, I think it's important to have a r little reminder of some of the the rules and regulations that that will govern this market. you s you said at the top that it's not gonna be a copy and paste of of Ontario, so maybe we should just go over where it is the same and and where it differs. So w what does everyone need to be aware of as Alberta goes live today?
Tom Nightingale (06:42.25)
Yeah, it kind of is copy and paste about of Ontario's market, really. I mean, there are some differences, but ba basically, you know, no cap on the number of licensees. So theoretically, you know. I think honestly, I think on I think today when the market went live, we'll find out, I guess, after the fact. But I think probably as many as around twenty operators might g might might have gone live on day one.
So in that way it's kind of similar to Ontario, you know, like no cap, you a lot a lot of US states say we're only going to issue five licenses or something like that. Ontario didn't do that. Alberta's not done that either. Same basic tax rate, twenty percent, bit of a difference in on Alberta because they are siphoning a bit off the top for First Nations and for sort of social responsibility measures. I think it comes out at probably about twenty two percent really. So very similar to Ontario and as I sort of referenced earlier, everyone's kind of happy with that, I think, in Ontario. Quite reasonable. You see some US states trying to charge p online
sports books forty, fifty percent. so twenty percent doesn't seem so bad. Similar advertising restrictions as Ontario, you know, it's pretty, you know, pretty
A lot of it's pretty standard stuff. Don't advertise, you know, don't advertise to children. Don't use, you know, cartoons or other imagery that are obviously going to appeal to children or could reasonably be expected to appeal to children. Ontario's probably couple most interesting things on advertising. you cannot advertise sign up bonuses and promotional offers unless it's sort of direct communication on the operator's own platform to users who have opted in to be able to receive that.
So don't you're not gonna see any of this bet five dollars, get $150 in bonus bets that you see like all over the US. Ontario took a very hard line on that. Alberta liked what it saw, has got that in place as well.
Tom Nightingale (08:34.602)
You can only use a you know, you can only use r active or retired athletes in brand marketing for responsible gambling purposes. This is a little bit of a loophole, I would say, you know, like bet BetMGM, for example, very prominently use Connor McDavid, who is if anyone's not familiar, captain of the Edmonton Oilers NHL team, huge Canadian sporting hero. Sure, he's in their adverts and he's promoting their responsible gambling things, but you still have Connor McDavid and BetMGM's name emblazoned upon the screen when it comes on on a TV commercial, so I'm sure it still does the job.
in terms of advertising.
Charlie Horner (09:05.304)
Yeah. I I think that's quite fair though. I think it's a nice balance, right? Because you you you have the you have the use of the celebrity, you have the brand play, but also it you know, there there is that responsible gambling arm to it. And yeah, I I think I think on on those responsible gambling and and marketing policies, I do I do think that's probably th where Ontario gets things right and and if Alberta is going down the s same sort of path then
I think that can only be a a g a good thing for that market, really. and and it it goes to show because Ontario is an incredibly competitive market. Okay, there have been some departures since since the peak of something like something crazy, like eighty odd brands and and forty odd operators. But y you say there, Tom, that there's twenty perhaps going live on on day one. I
I'm not gonna ask you to to do to reel off the list because people can can go away and and Google that themselves if they like. But is it a is it a case of sort of familiar faces or the any surprises or any sort of notable omissions from from the list?
Tom Nightingale (10:15.648)
Hey, anyone listening who wants the full list, go to CanadianGaming Business.com. You'll find it there. Yeah, I mean it it's mostly it's mostly familiar names, I will say, like you FanJul DraftKings Bet MGM, you know, like big, big names of US gambling and also of Ontario iGaming. pretty much all of them will be there.
Charlie Horner (10:20.301)
Wonderfully done.
Tom Nightingale (10:36.458)
I would say for any US listen listeners, probably the biggest name emissions, like fanatics who just haven't entered Canada yet on the betting and gaming side. They are they compete reputedly they compete for like third place in US sports betting behind FanJuel and DraftKings on a tier with the likes of BetMGM and Bet Three Six Five. They just haven't entered Canada yet. I was told in an interview eighteen months ago that it's on their eventual roadmap, but there's no news on that front. similarly like hard rock bet
Currently not registered. They just got a license in Ontario. They also have not been in Canadian iGaming until now. what's interesting about Alberta is that the the the Alberta has a huge First Nations land-based casino industry. Huge. And the government, I you know, I'm sure that there have been some pretty painful negotiations at time, and I'm sure that at times I'm sure that not everybody's happy. But the Alberta government has, at least to a certain extent, made an effort to bring those First Nations.
casinos into the picture from day one. So we actually have two as of as of the time of recording, we have two
Brick and mortar First Nation casino operators who are expanding into iGaming, which is a pretty interesting dynamic that we haven't seen in Ontario. And we had we got an announcement recently, pure Casino Entertainment, who now own like seven casinos in in Alberta, have actually recruited Cambi to power their sports betting technology. So they're sort of, you know, they've got real expert iGaming partner on board. that's going to be a really interesting dynamic to follow, I think, per you know, from my from my standpoint at least. See how these First Nations operators do.
And then you also have a couple of wild, you know, a couple of completely net new operators coming in, like DeZone Bet, who just went live in Ontario last week, I think. really new. Obviously, they're in a lot of European markets, I know. they do have a big sports streaming presence in Canada. they also have a license in Alberta, so they'll they'll almost virtually be launching in Ontario and Alberta at the same time as a completely completely new entrant. So while a lot of it is very familiar for
Tom Nightingale (12:44.206)
familiar names, there are some pretty interesting sort of storylines to follow, I would say, in terms of the operator makeup.
Charlie Horner (12:51.67)
Yeah, I I agree. I think the First Nations storyline is is super interesting and almost almost unique to to Can Canadian eye gaming. in terms of the fact that, you know, that we we see obviously that there's tribal gaming in the US, but they don't tend to get involved too much on the online front, maybe you know, apart from s famous case in in Florida. But but on on the on the mo
Tom Nightingale (13:14.474)
Yeah, or it's sort of a revenue it's a revenue share agreement, isn't it, with like, you know, tribes will partner with Draft Kings or something, so the sports book will be Draft Kings, but the tribes will get a cut of the revenue, so it's not actually the tribe that is the operator, you know?
Charlie Horner (13:27.21)
I i e exactly, yeah. So th I think this th you know, First Nations entering the this market is is something unique, s certainly something to to look look at in the future. okay, Tom, let's take a quick break, and we'll come back and we'll we'll analyze a little bit more about what Alberta's market could look like.
Charlie Horner (13:49.143)
Welcome back to iGaming Daily. Now, Tom, we're we're all we're all really excited for this market to launch and to to see what what what returns it will bring really because that that's ultimately why a lot of these operators are are entering this market and that's why the the provincial government set it up in the first place. They want to get growth going in in in Alberta. do we have any financial projections and and some forecasts about how big this market could actually be compared to let's say
comparable size jurisdictions in in North America.
Tom Nightingale (14:22.438)
yeah, we do. I mean since about twenty twenty four there have been a couple of analyst estimates out floating around out there that Alberta could could wind up as somewhere like a top six, top seven market in North America for for regulated online gambling. boosted of course by the fact that it offers online sports betting and online casino at the same time.
And now it's been pretty hush hush from the government until very recently, obviously, 'cause things haven't really been confirmed and everything. But now that we're now we're actually la actually launching, I know Minister Dale Nally said recently that I think the government officially is projecting seventy eight million dollars in in revenue for the government in the first year. I suspect that might be slightly on the low side, although it's hard to tell.
I think that would equate to equate to a ballpark of about three hundred and fifty million dollars in gross gaming revenue at the twenty percent tax rate. I wouldn't be surprised to see to see it see it be more than that. I think, you know, when Ontario opened, a a big theme was that I don't really think every anybody realized, frankly, how much people were already gambling online in this province. Alberta is very much the same. Some of the operators who will who who will have launched in the regulated market
were there last week as well. you know, just not officially. so it's not like Albertans are like, what is this online gambling thing that has just arrived on our doorstep? You know, they've been a lot of them have been doing it already. So I think that maybe Alberta might be slightly surprised by the level of uptake. and then there was an estimate came out as well very recently.
From H H two Gam gambling capital, I think it was, a big big re sort of market research firm, who suggested that yeah, the revenue might be a lot more than the government said. I think they they they estimated I think about eight hundred million in gross gaming revenue for the fiscal year that ends next March. So not even a whole year. We're talking like nine months, bit less. and this projection also had it at about one point five
Tom Nightingale (16:28.544)
billion dollars for the fiscal year ended March twenty march march twenty twenty eight, I think.
Yeah, so sorry, handle that that handle handle that is, I think. so again, it speaks to the fact that, you know, these are all just estimates, we'll see. they're not exactly going to be, you know, incredibly accurate. But what it really, really speaks to is, like we said, the level of demand that is already there. The fact that Albertans are gonna go from, you know, officially the only or government authorized platform is the
Charlie Horner (16:39.178)
Not in cons not in significant sums.
Tom Nightingale (17:00.864)
play Alberta, the government won. The government has said numerous times, and so have independent r independent reports that about s only about thirty percent of online gambling activity in Alberta currently happens on that.
approved government platform. The remaining seventy percent is happening out there in the shadows. A large amount of that unregulated play is about to transition to regulated play because you're gonna have like FanJor Diraff Kings and all these things, you know, that you didn't have before. So the opportunity, I would say, for operators and for the government is pretty huge.
Charlie Horner (17:34.765)
Yeah, that that sort of well established grey market is a an another unique commercial opportunity I I would suggest, given given that all these players are mature gamblers essentially. So if you're a an international operator wanting to come in, you don't have to do that player education piece necessarily because they're they're they're ready to go.
Tom, I think w one of the main themes of Alberta and perhaps the reason why this is such a significant market launch for North America is because online casino is in there. And that is something that just does not happen very often in North America. you know, you've got the two in Canada, of course, but you've only got seven in the US. And look, it does not look likely that the many other states will regulate online casino anytime soon.
Tom Nightingale (18:09.996)
Yeah.
Charlie Horner (18:26.6)
So I just maybe you could speak to that opportunity for some of the biggest operators to to take advantage of that and really put their their foot on the gas if if they get that market entry strategy right.
Tom Nightingale (18:39.818)
I mean this is this is
a huge thing for the for th for the operators and of course for the suppliers and you know everybody who gets I don't know I would I wouldn't even know how to estimate. I'm sure you can probably find out but how many suppliers are in Ontario's regulated market. It must be absolutely loads because even if you get a small piece of the pie it's you know. but yes, I mean in like you say for for these kind of particularly for these US giants, like I said before, most US states I think now there's about thirty f thirty four sports legal sports betting states, something like that in the US. Like you say, only seven
Online casino states. And most of these states, as well, only, like I said before, only give out between well, some of them only give out. Well, there's a couple of monopoly states. At most, I think you get maybe about 10 licenses, something like that, for different operators. So it's really quite limited. And to your point, like these opportunities don't come around very often. Like Missouri just launched sports betting December 2025. That was the first new sports betting market in the US since North.
North Carolina, I believe, which was March twenty twenty-four. So you're looking at more than an eighteen month gap between those two launches. Online casino is even more remarkable because
if you don't count monopoly markets where like Rhode Island they only allow one operator to to do business. I think I'm right in saying that the most recent competitive online casino market launch was Ontario in North America in 2022. Because you have like New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, like these are all quite long established markets.
Tom Nightingale (20:16.106)
Rhode Island launched like twenty twenty four, I think, but again, only has one license, so it's not like it's a big opportunity really. Maine, just legalised online casino, hasn't launched it yet. When it does launch it, it's tethered to the tribes, just like their sports betting market is. Currently only DraftKings and Caesars are in Maine for online sports betting, so quite likely that I mean Caesars have already said they are gonna be in Maine. So you're looking at maybe one other operator coming into Maine. So like I give all this context.
to show the level of opportunity that Alberta is where you can have, you know, I think at mo most recent count there are more than 50 registered iGaming sites in Alberta to launch. They won't all have launched today. Some of them will take their time and launch a bit later. But you know, you're talking 50 available licensed sites. Almost all of them, if not all of them, will offer online casino. In Ontario, more operators offer online casino than than offer sports betting.
Also in Ontario, the split, like online casino is king. I think at almost ninety percent at the last count of handle. So, you know, wages cash wages by by by dollar amount.
was on online casino. Only like ten percent was on sports betting. For operators, I think the revenue, about eighty percent of it, about eighty percent of aggregated gross gaming revenue is online casino. Less than twenty percent is sports betting. so I mean the opportunity to be able to launch both verticals at once, also using multiple platforms if you want, like Caesars are going live with Caesar Sportsbook and Casino, Caesars Palace online casino, Horseshoe Online Casino. They three
Separate distinct brands, all of which will offer online casino. Only one of those offers sports betting. to be able to do that in North America is like a golden ticket that does not come around very often. so
Tom Nightingale (22:16.468)
In the same way that for Canada, this is a really seminal moment, having a second regulated eye gaming province, which by the way, if the if and when this proves to be successful, you gotta think it's gonna increase the pressure on other provinces to think there is a huge revenue stream here and there's a huge way to protect players who are already doing this. That's a conversation for another day. but not only is it a big, big moment for Canadian gaming, it's a it's a huge opportunity for these operators as well. And it's gonna be really fascinating to see how it develops, I would say, you know, look at the revenue reports that will come.
out I think quarterly at first from Alberta IGaming Corporation. see where we are by the end of 2026, you know, and and see how quickly this market gets up and running because I suspect that it's gonna be very quickly.
Charlie Horner (23:04.448)
Yeah, I think it will be. And I I think something that again backs up your point and is indicative of the size of the opportunity is that there's gonna be fifty sites going live, maybe not on day one, but eventually twenty twenty operators. You just simply don't have that demand in some of these sports betting states in in the US. if it's sports betting only, you aren't gonna get fifteen
oper operators to to apply for a licence, it simply doesn't happen anymore. And that there are operators who have left the US citing the lack of online casino states f for for their departure and it's just not commercially viable, particularly when you've got you know, effectively a duopoly and I know fanatics would would argue otherwise, but but effectively it's difficult to to get into that top two.
so yeah, a significant opportunity, something that everyone's gonna be very excited for. And and Tom, I'm gonna peel back the curtain a little bit before we sign off. you're not in Canada Canada right now. You you you're at Nick Nickel G's for their summer meetup, but you will be in Edmonton for the launch. so wha what are the plans? It sounds sounds exciting.
Tom Nightingale (24:18.462)
Yeah, it is exciting. You know, I d I didn't get to get out on the ground. I think it was at the Toronto Stock Exchange when like Ontario had their sort of, you know, ribbon cutting or whatever you want to call it. Alberta, I think it's gonna be, you know, I think we're we're gonna have a pretty good pretty good day today. go I know we've got Alberta IGaming Corporation and Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis, the young market regulator. We've got Minister Nalie, I think, delivering comments. I'm sure there's gonna be a lot of fanfare and a lot of trumpeting.
Lot of photo opportunities, you know, governments love a photo opportunity. But it's also gonna be good because then it's gonna be a lot of operators in the room, a lot of regulators in the room. the the excitement I think will be palpable because as as we as we spoke about at the very start of this, you know, this is years in the making now. And whatever you think of, you know
Whatever you I would say that whatever you think of like regulated online gambling, you know, obviously it has its drawbacks. are more Albertans gonna gamble now than they did before? Probably. Were a lot of Albertans gambling already? Definitely. you can't deny the fact that this has been a lot of hard work really from a lot of people. Government but the industry, like the consult the level of consultations that have been involved.
a level of planning that goes into it to meet licensing requirements and compliance requirements. The fact that like operators are talking about how they're gonna tailor their offerings to Alberta. I was talking to somebody from BetMGM recently who said they're gonna have like casino games that kind of lean on Alberta sports imagery and that sort of stuff to really sort of differentiate between their Alberta offering and their Ontario offering. You know, it's it's it's it's it's a big opportunity. so to have a lot of these people in the room at once is going to be fun. And then later on in the evening in Edmund
We're having a little bit of a we're having a little bit of a a shindig ourselves, I think, hosted by SBC. so if you are in Edmonton at the moment, shall I shout out Bob MacFarlane? I know he'd want me to say get in touch with Bob McFarland.
Charlie Horner (26:13.07)
he'd love it. Big shout out to Bob.
Tom Nightingale (26:15.848)
Yeah, yeah, he'd want me to do that. So, but yeah, so it's gonna be fun 'cause we'll be able to sort of you know, we'll we'll have the sort of official government stuff, all the fanfare, and then we'll be able to sort of like have a lot of conversations with people and just sort of, you know, soak it all in as the as the hard work starts really for for these operators. So yeah, it should be a good day. It should be a fun day.
Charlie Horner (26:35.352)
Fantastic. Yeah. Well I no, I b I do agree actually that, you know, it's it's it's hard to sometimes say, will somebody think of the government officials or w would somebody please think of the the gambling operators? But actually it is a lot of hard work and I think, yeah, if if you can have a day just to
Tom Nightingale (26:43.777)
Ha ha ha.
Charlie Horner (26:51.756)
just to reflect on that hard work, then I think that's well deserved. so Tom, that said, hope you enjoy the festivities in Edmonton. I'm sure there'll be some form of of ri coverage on Canadian gaming business that people can check out. So do keep your eyes peeled for that. but Tom, thanks a lot for sharing your expert insights here.
Thank you to Optimu for supporting the show as always. And to our audience, thanks for tuning in to today's episode of iGaming Daily and come back tomorrow to keep up to date with all the latest global gambling news.