Alberta’s Grey Market Grace Period Ends; Operators Must Register or Leave

^{Alberta’s regulated market now lists 48 sites, and the province has promised to “pull every lever” against unlicensed operators still taking bets. (Image: Tatiana Gromova/Alamy)}

Alberta's three-month grace period for grey market casino sites to either join its regulated market or leave the province has ended.

After Alberta launched its iGaming market on July 13, the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC) gave grey market sites that had no licence but were still accepting Alberta players up to three months, on a case-by-case basis, to complete the necessary regulatory steps.

To operate an online casino or sportsbook legally in Alberta, an operator must first register with the AGLC and then enter into a commercial agreement with the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC).

Operators must also pay a $50,000 application fee and a $150,000 annual registration fee for each site they run.

Registered operators must also contribute 3% of their gross gaming revenue, with 2% going to First Nations groups and 1% to problem gambling research and treatment.

The province then keeps 20% of the net iGaming revenue that remains.

Grey market sites pay no provincial tax whatsoever.

Now that the deadline has passed, any online gambling site that is still accepting wagers from within Alberta but is not registered with the AGLC is operating illegally within the province.

Crackdown Promised

At a recent gambling industry panel at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, Dale Nally, minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, said his government would not tackle the problem of “illicit operators” until the Oct. 13 deadline.

Once it arrived, he vowed, they would “pull every lever” at their disposal to “make sure that the good guys are rewarded.”

In addition to paying provincial tax, regulated online casinos in Alberta are legally required to offer various player protections and responsible gambling tools, including a centralized self-exclusion tool that allows players to cut off access to all AGLC-registered casinos at once.

Grey market or “offshore” casino sites offer reduced or limited protections, or even none at all.

Speaking to Casinos.com in the wake of continued targeting of Albertan players by grey market casinos, which included the use of AI advertising with fake celebrity cameos, Nally spoke of the harm unregulated gaming sites can bring to players:

“These are predatory, illegal gambling sites that are trying to take advantage of Albertans.

“They play by no rules, offer no protections and should be avoided at all costs.”

Moving Players to Regulated Sites

Though it is unknown exactly how many Albertans gamble on regulated sites versus unregulated ones, the only regulated casino and sportsbook available to Albertan players before the iGaming market launched was the provincial government-owned Play Alberta, which still operates.

It was estimated that only around 30% of all online gambling located in Alberta took place on the site, with the majority of online wagering taking place on grey market sites.

Alberta's iGaming leaders want 70% to 75% of all online gambling in the province to take place on regulated sites within two years, with AiGC CEO Dan Keene telling Casinos.com back in June:

“We believe that’s achievable. In fact, we think we can beat that number.”

Alberta's regulated market launched with 22 operator sites live on day one, becoming the second Canadian province after Ontario to open a private iGaming market.

The AGLC told grey market operators they had until that same July 13 date to apply, pay registration fees and stop taking unregulated bets, with case-by-case extensions of up to three months available.

Today's deadline was the latest an operator could claim that extension, though it's understood that some grey market sites that have yet to register are still in the application process and awaiting final approval.

AiGC's live operator directory currently lists 48 branded sportsbook and casino sites, more than double the 22 that launched in July.

Stake, one of the world's largest grey market operators, was among the latest brands to complete registration, going live in Alberta just ahead of the deadline after years of serving Canadian players through unregulated channels.

Enforcement Still Unclear

It is unknown how exactly Alberta will force unregulated gambling sites to “go dark” within the province.

At the G2E summit, however, Nally hinted at enforcement measures that reach beyond the operators themselves, pointing to payment processors, app stores and social media platforms that carry unlicensed gambling activity.

“I’m not going to broadcast what they are because I don’t want to tell the bad guys what we’re going to start doing,” he said.

Alberta's approach mirrors Ontario's transition.

Ontario launched its online casino market on April 4, 2022, and grey market operators had until Oct. 31 of that year to either register with the province or wind down.