Alberta's first iGaming market report: C$2.89bn wagered and C$122.1m in revenue, with online casino taking three-quarters

The first three months in numbers

AiGC is the provincial corporation that conducts and manages Alberta's commercial iGaming market, and the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC) regulates it. The report was prepared from data submitted by operators that have an operating agreement with AiGC. All figures are in Canadian dollars and are unaudited. July covers only July 13–31.

AiGC defines NAGGR as wagers minus winnings. It is called "non-adjusted" because it is the raw difference, before any adjustments. ARPPA (average revenue per active player account) is NAGGR divided by active player accounts in the same month. Because one person can hold accounts with several operators, the account count overstates the number of individual players.

Across the three months, operators kept about 4.1% of wagers as NAGGR in July and August and 4.4% in September, according to the report's own breakdown of wagers into winnings and NAGGR.

Online casino carries the market

Random number generator (RNG) casino games, which include slots, table games, poker and keno, made up most of both stakes and revenue in every month.

Betting's share of revenue moved more than casino's. It was 17.3% in July, fell to 12.1% in August and rose to 19.5% in September. Betting NAGGR more than doubled from C$5.2m in August to C$11.1m in September, while betting wagers grew from C$112.2m to C$152.7m. By AskSpinner's calculation from the report data, that means operators kept about 7.3% of betting stakes in September, compared with about 4.6% in August. Sportsbook margins swing with results, so one month does not set a trend.

The report also lists fantasy sports and peer-to-peer games, where players bet against each other, as eligible products. They do not appear in the monthly data because AiGC only reports products that had activity.

From grey market to registered sites

Before regulation, AiGC estimates that about 70% of online gambling in Alberta took place on unregulated offshore platforms. CEO Dan Keene has set a target of moving 75% of the grey market into the regulated space within the first two years.

The report does not give a channelization rate. AiGC's release says the preliminary data "demonstrates steady channelization". It also says the results "are not a full representation of the total iGaming market" because operators joined in stages over the period.

"Early results indicate that Albertans value the strong oversight and greater accountability offered by a regulated market," Keene said. AiGC expects several more operators to join by the end of 2026.

To offer games in Alberta, an operator must register with AGLC and sign a commercial agreement with AiGC. Operators must integrate AGLC's centralized self-exclusion program, which lets a player exclude themselves from all registered iGaming platforms at once. They must also follow advertising rules, which include displaying the AiGC logo and referring players to responsible gambling information such as 211 Alberta.

Operators that were already taking bets in Alberta before launch were allowed to keep doing so while they moved into the regulated market. That transition period ended on October 13, after the reporting period. An AiGC spokesperson told Covers that any operator going live after that date "must cease all unregulated market activities until the date they go live". Alberta officials have said enforcement against unregistered sites will follow. Ontario took a similar step during its own transition (see AskSpinner's coverage of PointsBet's Ontario settlement), and other regulators are also targeting illegal sites, such as the UK Gambling Commission's work on illegal links.

Where the money goes

When the market launched, AiGC said 20% of operators' net revenues would go to Alberta's General Revenue Fund. A further 3% of gross gaming revenue is set aside: 2% for First Nations and 1% for social responsibility programs, including gambling addiction research and mental health treatment.

What to watch

• The October report, due in the third week of November, will be the first to include the period after the October 13 deadline for previously unregulated operators.
• Whether AiGC publishes a channelization estimate to measure against its 75% two-year target.
• Enforcement steps against unregistered sites, which Alberta officials have said could involve app stores, payment providers and social media platforms.