Stake Canada Registers With AGLC, Nears Alberta iGaming Launch

^{Stake Canada Ltd. now appears as a registered gaming operator on the AGLC's website, a step closer to a commercial launch in Alberta's iGaming market. (Image: Mojahid Mottakin/Alamy)}

The Stake casino and betting brand is coming to Alberta's regulated iGaming market.

Stake Canada Ltd. received iGaming operator registration from the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC) on Thursday, Sept. 24, according to Canadian Gaming Business.

The AGLC's site lists the entity under the class "iGaming - Operator," and the company plans to launch a full sportsbook and online casino in Alberta, without poker or daily fantasy sports.

A Registered Operator, Not Yet a Licensed One

"We're a registered operator as of today and we expect that licensing and an operating agreement are not too far behind," Stake Canada general manager Kris Abbott told Canadian Gaming Business.

"I have to commend the regulator in Alberta, from the government to the AGLC to the [Alberta iGaming Corporation]," Abbott added. "They've done a great job putting the market together, and by all accounts it's going well. We're excited to join."

Registration is the first of two steps operators must clear before taking bets in Alberta's regulated iGaming market.

Stake Canada still needs a full AGLC licence and a commercial operating agreement with the Alberta iGaming Corporation, the body that manages the province's iGaming contracts, before it can go live.

The Brand Behind the Application

Stake Canada Ltd. is a subsidiary of the Australian companies Stake Gaming and Easygo Group.

Its parent brand, Stake.com, operates offshore from Curaçao and already offers online casino and sports betting to Canadian players in the unregulated grey market.

Data supplied to Canadian Gaming Business by H2 Gambling Capital estimates Stake is the second-biggest unregulated iGaming operator in Canada, with a 31% share of the grey market and about C$921 million in Canadian revenue, trailing only Super Group, the owner of Betway.

Stake has pushed the brand into regulated markets elsewhere in recent years, including Denmark, Italy and Mexico, and formed Stake Canada as a separate entity to pursue the Alberta and Ontario online casino markets specifically.

Stake Canada has a pending licence application with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario as well, and Abbott told Canadian Gaming Business the company expects to hear back "at some point soon," though it has no confirmed timeline.

Deadline Approaching 

Alberta opened its regulated iGaming market on July 13 as Canada's second private-sector iGaming province.

The AGLC gave grey-market operators a three-month grace period to transition to the licensed market, with that window closing Oct. 13.

Abbott said Stake Canada applied for the transition extension in July and expects to have its remaining paperwork finished before the deadline.

If the timeline holds, Stake's sportsbook and casino would join more than 30 licensed iGaming sites already live in Alberta, alongside other grey-market brands such as Super Group and Bet99 Canada that are also working through the same transition window.