Province launching new regulated market for online gambling

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on January 15, 2026.

Later this year the province plans to launch a new regulated market for online gambling, a form of gambling which occurs largely unregulated.

Under the new regulated market online casinos and gaming providers will be required to ensure advertising does not target minors, and that financial and time-based limitation tools are available for gamblers.

According to data gathered by the government, approximately 70 per cent of Alberta’s total iGaming market is run by unregulated operators.

“With unregulated iGaming widely available in our province, it is our responsibility to step in, regulate the market and hold private providers to the highest standards to protect Albertans, particularly our youth,” said Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally.

The new regulations will also prevent promotion of gambling by professional athletes and require operators to ensure no advertising targets minors.

Operators will also have to ensure they include built-in gambler protection measures that include a system wide self-exclusion option as well as financial and time-based tools that can be used to limit their time or finances.

Additionally, operators will be required to provide Albertans with gaming activity statements and to intervene when signs of problematic gambling behaviour emerge.

In a news release Wednesday, the government says the new regulated market will also recover revenue from unregulated gambling sites.

Industry operators will be provided a list of new regulations leading up to the launch of the regulated market, for which no date has been currently set.

At the moment PlayAlberta is the province’s only regulated iGaming site under the direction and management of Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis.