The Alberta online casino market already has 33 applications from companies ready for the upcoming launch in July.
Service Alberta Minister Dave Nally told local media last week that there are 33 operators that have applied for a license, 20 of which have already paid their deposit. The most recent announcement came from DraftKings, which opened preregistration last week.
Alberta will be the second Canadian province to open its online casino and sports betting markets up to private companies after Ontario did so in April 2022.
Sportsbooks and online casinos in Alberta will launch on July 13.
Nally against Alberta online casino regulation
Alberta is charging a 20% tax to operate online gambling, but generating tax revenue comes second to keeping Albertans safe, he said.
“If there was a red button that I could push that would stop online gambling, I would push that button,” Nally said according to the Edmonton Journal. “But it doesn’t exist.”
Either way, the new operators should grow gambling taxes significantly. Alberta already had iGaming available through Play Alberta, but the province estimates about 70% of iGaming revenue in the province is from offshore operators.
Penn brand getting local love
The Edmonton Journal report noted that Nally specifically mentioned theScore, Penn Entertainment‘s Canadian sports media brand, when talking about the excitement over seeing top brands want to join the market as “responsible operators.”
Penn recently transitioned back to theScore Bet brand in the U.S. after cutting short a 10-year deal with Disney for the ESPN Bet brand in December. Penn has always operated under theScore Bet brand in Canada, though, given the media app’s popularity in the country. The sports media platform has around 4 million monthly active users in North America, according to Penn’s fourth quarter earnings presentation.
Penn expects to spend around $15 million to $20 million around Alberta’s launch. CEO Jay Snowden stressed on the fourth quarter earnings call how important it is to build up customers quickly.
“It’s a really important market and we’ve all learned through the years that those initial signups you get, those are the most valuable customer cohorts that you end up with,” Snowden said. “So we gotta make sure we launch successfully in Alberta like we did in Ontario, and when you do you, tend to hold onto your market share much more effectively.”
