Alberta Preparing a New Regulatory Framework for iGaming

With the success of the iGaming market in Ontario, Alberta is looking to it as a blueprint for its own plans in that arena. Despite this, there will likely be differences in the way the two provinces regulate this industry. These potential differences will likely be based on the strategies laid out by Dale Nally, Alberta’s Minister of Service and Red Tape Reduction.

The manner in which Alberta eventually decides to handle its iGaming regulations will be crucial to maintaining a healthy balance for the industry there. Many other regions have begun seeing the drawbacks of over-regulation in this field. As a result, many new-age casinos operating offshore have been gaining popularity over traditional ones that are often stifled by restrictions.

This is because restrictions place more onerous burdens on operators and cause lengthy delays with everything from sign-up procedures to payout times. However, offshore casinos have become a revelation for players tied down by these restrictions. For example, crypto casinos and the perks found at sites like an instant payout casino have seen the number of players from regions like the US, UK, Asia, Europe, and even Canada soaring in recent years.

Instant payout casinos in particular have grown very popular in recent years as they offer players same-day access to their winnings. This phenomenon has been playing out amid ever-tightening regulations on iGaming sites being deployed in many prominent markets.

While reasonable regulations have their benefits, many players feel that most jurisdictions are over-regulating the industry now and players have begun to respond by flocking to offshore sites. Instant payout casinos offer a perfect refuge since platforms like these feature fewer restrictions, more expansive gaming libraries, more privacy, and more generous bonuses.

While Alberta is drawing heavily from Ontario’s regulatory guidelines, it also wants to retain some aspects that will distinguish it too. Minister Nally has indicated that Alberta will seek a less onerous regulatory regime than Ontario. However, as it is with Ontario, there won’t be a limit imposed on the number of iGaming operators permitted. These would also not require any partnerships with land-based casinos.

This approach is expected to foster a competitive online betting environment. As such, huge operators are expected to set up shop there and operate freely alongside the government-run Play Alberta—which currently holds a monopoly.

Nally’s ministry has already been busy working on these new regulations and is set to keep being so as it will also be directly responsible for overseeing iGaming regulations and their enforcement. This ensures a separate regulatory body need not be created. It also addresses concerns raised by operators that Alberta’s Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis Commission (AGLC) would have a conflict of interest if it managed the new regime as the AGLC is a market operator since it runs the Play Alberta platform.

All in all, Alberta’s approach currently does look good and at least considers the need for making it as simple as possible for new entrants to gain access to the market. Alberta’s method to “conduct and manage” gambling activities is in direct contrast with Ontario’s, where iGaming Ontario (iGO) is simply a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).

The revenue-sharing model will also be looked at. Currently, Ontario operators are taxed 20% with the province making $790 million of them last year—with more expansion on the horizon. On that note, Alberta has hinted that it may seek a higher percentage. With other things like consults with indigenous communities and other stakeholders, and setting up transition periods for “grey” market operators, there is more work to be done. However, for now, the future of the iGaming industry in Alberta looks good indeed.

Related Topics:AlbertaiGamingFramework AlbertaMinisterOfRedTapeReduction DaleNally IGamingRegulationsAlberta

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Low oil prices could have big consequences for Alberta’s finances

Published on April 26, 2025

Todayville

From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill

Amid the tariff war, the price of West Texas Intermediate oil—a common benchmark—recently dropped below US$60 per barrel. Given every $1 drop in oil prices is an estimated $750 million hit to provincial revenues, if oil prices remain low for long, there could be big implications for Alberta’s budget.

The Smith government already projects a $5.2 billion budget deficit in 2025/26 with continued deficits over the following two years. This year’s deficit is based on oil prices averaging US$68.00 per barrel. While the budget does include a $4 billion “contingency” for unforeseen events, given the economic and fiscal impact of Trump’s tariffs, it could quickly be eaten up.

Budget deficits come with costs for Albertans, who will already pay a projected $600 each in provincial government debt interest in 2025/26. That’s money that could have gone towards health care and education, or even tax relief.

Unfortunately, this is all part of the resource revenue rollercoaster that’s are all too familiar to Albertans.

Resource revenue (including oil and gas royalties) is inherently volatile. In the last 10 years alone, it has been as high as $25.2 billion in 2022/23 and as low as $2.8 billion in 2015/16. The provincial government typically enjoys budget surpluses—and increases government spending—when oil prices and resource revenue is relatively high, but is thrown into deficits when resource revenues inevitably fall.

Fortunately, the Smith government can mitigate this volatility.

The key is limiting the level of resource revenue included in the budget to a set stable amount. Any resource revenue above that stable amount is automatically saved in a rainy-day fund to be withdrawn to maintain that stable amount in the budget during years of relatively low resource revenue. The logic is simple: save during the good times so you can weather the storm during bad times.

Indeed, if the Smith government had created a rainy-day account in 2023, for example, it could have already built up a sizeable fund to help stabilize the budget when resource revenue declines. While the Smith government has deposited some money in the Heritage Fund in recent years, it has not created a dedicated rainy-day account or introduced a similar mechanism to help stabilize provincial finances.

Limiting the amount of resource revenue in the budget, particularly during times of relatively high resource revenue, also tempers demand for higher spending, which is only fiscally sustainable with permanently high resource revenues. In other words, if the government creates a rainy-day account, spending would become more closely align with stable ongoing levels of revenue.

And it’s not too late. To end the boom-bust cycle and finally help stabilize provincial finances, the Smith government should create a rainy-day account.

Alberta

Governments in Alberta should spur homebuilding amid population explosion

Published on April 26, 2025

Todayville

From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill and Austin Thompson

In 2024, construction started on 47,827 housing units—the most since 48,336 units in 2007 when population growth was less than half of what it was in 2024.

Alberta has long been viewed as an oasis in Canada’s overheated housing market—a refuge for Canadians priced out of high-cost centres such as Vancouver and Toronto. But the oasis is starting to dry up. House prices and rents in the province have spiked by about one-third since the start of the pandemic. According to a recent Maru poll, more than 70 per cent of Calgarians and Edmontonians doubt they will ever be able to afford a home in their city. Which raises the question: how much longer can this go on?

Alberta’s housing affordability problem reflects a simple reality—not enough homes have been built to accommodate the province’s growing population. The result? More Albertans competing for the same homes and rental units, pushing prices higher.

Population growth has always been volatile in Alberta, but the recent surge, fuelled by record levels of immigration, is unprecedented. Alberta has set new population growth records every year since 2022, culminating in the largest-ever increase of 186,704 new residents in 2024—nearly 70 per cent more than the largest pre-pandemic increase in 2013.

Homebuilding has increased, but not enough to keep pace with the rise in population. In 2024, construction started on 47,827 housing units—the most since 48,336 units in 2007 when population growth was less than half of what it was in 2024.

Moreover, from 1972 to 2019, Alberta added 2.1 new residents (on average) for every housing unit started compared to 3.9 new residents for every housing unit started in 2024. Put differently, today nearly twice as many new residents are potentially competing for each new home compared to historical norms.

While Alberta attracts more Canadians from other provinces than any other province, federal immigration and residency policies drive Alberta’s population growth. So while the provincial government has little control over its population growth, provincial and municipal governments can affect the pace of homebuilding.

For example, recent provincial amendments to the city charters in Calgary and Edmonton have helped standardize building codes, which should minimize cost and complexity for builders who operate across different jurisdictions. Municipal zoning reforms in Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer have made it easier to build higher-density housing, and Lethbridge and Medicine Hat may soon follow suit. These changes should make it easier and faster to build homes, helping Alberta maintain some of the least restrictive building rules and quickest approval timelines in Canada.

There is, however, room for improvement. Policymakers at both the provincial and municipal level should streamline rules for building, reduce regulatory uncertainty and development costs, and shorten timelines for permit approvals. Calgary, for instance, imposes fees on developers to fund a wide array of public infrastructure—including roads, sewers, libraries, even buses—while Edmonton currently only imposes fees to fund the construction of new firehalls.

It’s difficult to say how long Alberta’s housing affordability woes will endure, but the situation is unlikely to improve unless homebuilding increases, spurred by government policies that facilitate more development.