It also states that 96 per cent of gamblers do so responsibly, one percentage point shy of the AGLC’s goal. The same report stated that while its online gaming side accounted for only $37 million of $773.6 million in total gambling revenue, it was seeing a month-over-month growth of 32.7 per cent. In 2020, the AGLC estimated $378 million in gaming revenue annually was being sucked up by offshore online portals often dubbed illicit or “grey.” The proceeds go into general government revenues. Keno Game – Alberta’s Only Regulated Online Gambling Website. Screen grab from the website PlayAlberta. “The recent passing of federal sports gambling legislation Bill C-218 will also provide new opportunities for growth with the legalization of single-event wagering.” “Gaming operations is forecasting growth in online gambling, as entertainment opportunities are expanded to include online lottery tickets, sports betting and poker,” said the AGLC’s 2020-21 annual report.

In a bid to discourage that kind of offshore betting, Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC), which operates the province’s only legal online sports betting platform at PlayAlberta.ca, is running TV ads warning of “shady bets.”Īt the same time, the AGLC, which in the fall of 2020 joined other provinces in jumping on the online gaming bandwagon to grab a share of the gambling pie, says the activity is promising for its bottom line. “It took me down but it’s something you can recover from if you put your mind to it.” “A lot of it isn’t legal in Alberta as it is in Ontario, but if you have a tablet you can have access to it, it’s wide open - there’s not much anyone can do about it,” said Reshke, who battled a VLT addiction 25 years ago. That spread to Canada in 2021 with the legalization of single-game betting that’s found a major foothold in Ontario, which has registered about 70 different sports books or casinos.īut critics of the activity say it’s easy to get around online gaming bans in what’s a legal grey area. in 2018, the NHL and some of its teams struck partnerships with casinos and sports books. Online betting that’s existed for two decades “certainly changed the nature” of problem gambling, but the more recent relentless bombardment of sports betting advertising has added fuel to that fire, said Reshke.Īfter a federal ban on sports betting ended in the U.S.

Gambling on Sports is a Bad Bet