PENN CEO Expects More Provinces to Follow Ontario and Alberta on iGaming

^{PENN Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden told investors he would be surprised if other provinces stop talking about opening their own iGaming markets after Alberta’s early results. (Image:JHVEPhoto/Alamy)}

PENN Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden says he expects more Canadian provinces to look at opening their own private iGaming markets, pointing to Ontario’s track record and the fast start in Alberta. 

Snowden made the comments on PENN’s third-quarter earnings call on Thursday, Nov. 5. The operator of theScore Bet and Hollywood Casino described how its first months in the Alberta market are going.

“I would be surprised if there will not continue to be conversation at the other provinces in Canada,” Snowden said.

“I think Ontario has been a really good story, both from an OSB and iGaming perspective, tax generation, and delivering on what the province there was hoping to deliver on. 

"Alberta is off to a great start, so I would imagine other provinces are going to be looking at what Ontario and Alberta were able to achieve and probably continuing to take a close look at that. So, I am encouraged that will likely play out over the coming quarters and years.”

Provinces Already Talking

Snowden did not name a province, but several are already discussing it publicly.

Nova Scotia Finance Minister John Lohr said in late October that conversations about expanding the province’s market are “underway right now.”

New Brunswick Finance Minister Rene Legacy told Canadian Gaming Business the province “is exploring options around regulating private online operators.”

In Quebec, the Liberals and the Parti Quebecois both campaigned on ending Loto-Quebec’s monopoly, and the two parties took 99 of 127 National Assembly seats in the Oct. 5 election. 

What PENN Said About Alberta

PENN launched in the province when the market opened July 13, with Hollywood Casino Alberta, theScore Bet and theScore Casino Alberta.

Snowden said online sports betting is already close to the share the company holds in Ontario.

“We’re off to a really strong start on online sports betting. We’re already scratching at our same market share levels that we deliver in Ontario through the first few months in Alberta, so that’s very encouraging,” Snowden said.

Asked by an analyst whether that share sits around 9% to 10%, Snowden replied “you are exactly right.” He added that PENN’s handle has outpaced the market month over month across the first four months.

Neither Ontario nor Alberta publishes revenue by operator, so the figure is PENN’s own and cannot be checked against regulator data.

PENN's online casino performance is a different picture, with Snowden saying the operator is about halfway to its Ontario share.

“The more encouraging part on the iGaming side is that perhaps because it’s a more mature market in Alberta from the grey markets, the TAM on iCasino looks a lot larger than we anticipated,” he said.

The Price of Launching

PENN flagged roughly US$20 million in Alberta investment for 2026 when it reported second-quarter results in August.

Snowden indicated the company would spend again if another province opens.

“There could always be an anomaly of a low hold quarter that impacts us or a new market that’s opening in a new province in Canada. So, similar to what we did with Alberta here in Q3, you’d make an investment,” he said.

PENN’s interactive segment reported revenue of US$348.4 million for the quarter, up 17% from US$297.7 million a year earlier, including a tax gross-up of US$191.4 million. 

Its adjusted EBITDA loss was US$18.3 million, compared with a loss of US$76.6 million in the third quarter of 2025.