Alberta, Canada is considering a sports-betting market model that would draw a lot from the successful one implemented recently by Ontario, CTV News reported June 4. It would be an all online model since Alberta has a sparse, spread out population.
“We are taking a look at the Ontario model and seeing how that would work in Alberta,” Dale Nally, minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction told CTV News.
Currently the province has some sports betting from the state monopoly, Play Alberta, which one consumer quoted by CTV News called “very, very hard to use.”
Another added, “I want my money to be there, I don’t want any issues with withdrawing it,” calling it unreliable, inconvenient and complicated and declaring, “I honestly don’t know anyone, in my family or friend group, who actually uses Play Alberta.”
Currently many Albertans turn to gray-market sports apps that don’t have these problems. But they also don’t have consumer protections or oversight. Nor do they pay taxes.
Canadian Gaming Association President and CEO Paul Burns told CTV News, “They are not illegal, they just aren’t legal.” He calls the sites “the gray market.”
Compare this to Ontario, where 45 licensed operators are flourishing. Of that province, Burns declared, “Almost 92 percent of sports betting now occurs in a regulated environment because of the actions taken by the province versus 10 or 12 percent in the rest of the country.”
In 2023, the Ontario market accepted $63 billion in wagers, paying the province CA$2.4 billion in taxes.
The provincial government has promised to consult with its First Nations and its residents before proposing anything. Some critics advise the inclusion of rules for responsible gaming and advertising, and not doing anything that increases problem gambling.
