Alberta will soon expand its online gambling landscape to allow multiple players to operate legally, moving closer to a model used in Ontario.
"Here's what I'll tell you. If there's a safer way to do this, and if there's a more responsible way to do it, and in a manner that allows us to capture a few dollars in the process, we're going to do this quickly."Play Alberta may be the only regulated online gambling website in Alberta, but that doesn't mean players are sticking to the AGLC-run option.
The eventual arrangement won't mirror Play Alberta's relationship with the AGLC. Operators had told the province they wouldn't come to Alberta under former rules given the AGLC's relationship with Play Alberta, according to Nally. According to the same report, around 86 per cent of respondents said they were now using regulated sites at the time of a survey conducted earlier this year.Since 2021, when federal legislation loosened up the rules around sports betting, Ontario has gone full throttle, creating what many have called a Wild West gambling environment. CBC’s Jamie Strashin explores how single-game betting has changed the game for some fans and why addiction experts are worried.
One of those safeguards available on gambling websites is the option of self-exclusion, which allows players to easily ban themselves from gambling websites. The best version of this concept is one that applies to all sites at the same time, according to Hodgins. Until now, the onus to impose those limits has been on the individual who gambles. But Hodgins said he'd like to see mandatory limit setting.