Alberta expects more than $278 million in revenue from online gambling in the market's first year of operation
The Canadian province of Alberta expects to generate approximately 390 million Canadian dollars (about 278 million U.S. dollars) in revenue in the first year following the launch of a regulated online gambling market. Tax revenue is projected to reach 76 million Canadian dollars (54 million U.S. dollars).
Alberta’s regulated online gambling market officially launched on July 13, 2026. According to authorities, at least 46 operators have already joined the market, including BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Bet365.
According to Alberta Minister of Affairs Dale Nelli, the government’s top priority is not financial revenue but strengthening player protection.
“We know that gambling will never be completely safe. At the same time, there are ways to make it somewhat safer and more responsible,” said Alberta Minister of State Dale Nelli.
It should be noted that prior to the launch of the regulated market in Alberta, only land-based betting shops and the state-run PlayAlberta platform operated legally, while approximately 70% of the online segment was part of the “gray” market. At the same time, the government introduced new rules for gambling advertising, a self-exclusion system for players, and required operators to allocate 1% of their gross gaming revenue to responsible gaming programs and assistance for people with gambling addiction.
This was reported by the Edmonton Journal, citing Alberta Minister of Community Development Dale Nelli.
As a reminder, Gennady Novikov, head of the state agency PlayCity, submitted his resignation. Summing up his year in office, he noted that the agency had reformed the regulation of the gambling and lottery market and launched a test version of the State Online Monitoring System.
According to Novikov, PlayCity also resumed licensing of the gambling industry, which brought nearly 2 billion hryvnias to the budget; issued the first licenses in over a decade to state lottery operators; and reestablished oversight in this sector. In addition, the agency blocked more than 9,500 illegal websites and nearly 700 pages containing illegal gambling advertisements, and imposed fines totaling 88 million hryvnias.
