888poker Makes History as First Regulated Online Poker Operation in Alberta

^{The Canadian province of Alberta is giving licensed and regulated online poker a warm welcome, and 888 was the first brand to go live on Tuesday. (Photo: Brandon Smith / Alamy)} 

Online poker officially arrived in Alberta on Tuesday, as 888poker launched the province’s first regulated poker site.

Until now, poker players in Alberta had to play at grey market poker platforms, sites licensed outside the province that cater to international players.

When Alberta opened its own legal and licensed iGaming market on July 13, poker sites were notably absent from the first list of gaming brands that started accepting players, with only online casino and sports betting options available.

Now, players can access regulated real-money online poker, including Texas Hold ’em and Omaha cash games, along with guaranteed tournaments such as turbos, Mystery Bounties and knockout events.

Tuesday’s launch date coincided with Alberta’s grey market grace period ending.

Until Oct. 13, grey market gambling sites wishing to enter the province’s legal setup could still accept Albertan players.

That spell of leniency has ended, and all grey market sites not registered with the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission must now “go dark” and refuse business from Alberta.

As of Tuesday, any that are still accepting Alberta bets are operating illegally in the province, according to the government, which has promised a crackdown.

888 in, PokerStars out

One notable name that said goodbye to Alberta as a result of the clampdown is PokerStars.

Last week, PokerStars players were sent emails from the operator notifying them that access to its poker product would be blocked in Alberta from Oct. 13 onward. The operator had previously shut down its casino and sports betting products in the province.

PokerStars said it would block players based on their IP addresses and registration information.

Any bankroll or remaining balances left in player accounts are safe and can be withdrawn at any time, while any tournament registrations for Oct. 13 or later will be refunded.

888, which registered with the AGLC back in June, informed its players of a similar shutdown but said it would relaunch in the province with a local licence.

However, at the time, it did not specify whether it would reintroduce poker alongside casino and sports betting.

Only Albertans allowed, for now

With only about 5 million residents and a ring-fenced player pool, Alberta’s new iGaming market is relatively small for peer-to-peer games such as online poker and daily fantasy sports, which require large amounts of liquidity to remain viable.

By comparison, Ontario, Canada’s only other regulated ring-fenced iGaming province, has a population of more than 16 million.

In Ontario, six licensed operators run poker sites across four networks.

888poker, GGPoker and PokerStars on FanDuel operate independently of each other, while the BetMGM Poker Network shares liquidity among BetMGM Poker, partypoker and bwin.

BetMGM already operates its casino and sports betting products in Alberta, as does FanDuel, but neither has launched poker so far.

GGPoker registered with the AGLC in August but has not launched in Alberta either.

As things stand, Alberta and Ontario cannot share player pools with each other or any other jurisdiction.

However, that could change in the future.

The future of Canadian poker on trial? 

In a related but separate development, Ontario is awaiting the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision, which could take months, on whether its online poker operators can share player pools with players in foreign regulated markets.

Alberta is supporting Ontario’s position, and, given that it now operates a regulated poker market of its own, the suggestion is that the two provinces could use any future ruling to share liquidity..

The prospect of shared liquidity between Alberta and Ontario could play a significant role in eventually attracting additional operators to Alberta’s online poker market.

With 888poker entering first, both players and competing operators may take a wait-and-see approach to gauge the success of its pioneering move.

Players in Canada, but outside Ontario and Alberta, can still access grey market or international poker sites that pool liquidity from around the world.

Though it is not illegal for players to access these sites, they are not regulated in Canada but do hold gaming licences from outside jurisdictions.

Poker brands that accept players from the rest of Canada include GGPoker, WPT Global and PokerStars Canada.