Alberta iGaming Act (Bill 48) explained: Commercial casinos, licensing, player protections

Passed on May 8, 2026, the Alberta iGaming Act (a.k.a. Bill 48) establishes the framework for legal commercial online casinos in the province. Its main function is opening the province to some of North America's most prominent private online gambling brands, like BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. However, Bill 48 covers plenty of other areas, including licensing, responsible gambling, and regulatory powers. Here's a breakdown of the key points of the iGaming Act.

Wild Rose Country has had legal online gaming since 2020, when the government-run PlayAlberta launched. But thanks to the iGaming Act, the province will soon have access to legal private Alberta online casinos too.

Commercial entities are currently applying with Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis (AGLC) for licensing. No specific licensing fees or tax rates are listed in Bill 48. The legislation gives the AGLC broad powers to decide fees, taxes, and ultimately which iGaming operators receive licensing.

Commercial online casino brands, software providers (e.g., Playtech), and service suppliers (e.g., eCOGRA Limited) can apply for an iGaming licence.

While the AGLC handles the licensing process and fee collection, the Alberta iGaming Corporation will handle certain other duties. Bill 48 created this entity to manage the province's commercial online gambling market, promote responsible gambling, and possibly enter into partnerships with other regulated provinces.

So far, Ontario is the only other province with regulated private Canada online casinos, sportsbooks, and poker sites. The Alberta iGaming Corporation could, for example, enter into an iPoker liquidity sharing arrangement with Ontario so the provinces could collectively provide bigger cash games and tournaments.

This split regulatory model frees up the AGLC to concentrate on issuing licences and enforcement, such as fining operators who don't follow the market's rules on responsible advertising and player self-exclusions. 

The Alberta iGaming Act also gives regulators the ability to establish responsible gambling rules, like advertising standards, ensuring game integrity, and protecting player funds. For example, regulators can require each AB online casino to offer options for deposit limits, session limits, wagering limits, and self-exclusion.

Not surprisingly, Bill 48 prohibits minors from accessing Alberta iCasinos and other regulated online gambling sites. It also bans entities from facilitating or permitting minors to gamble online. The province's legal gambling age is currently 18 years old.

As per the iGaming Act, the Alberta iGaming Corporation and AGLC can share relevant player information. This info can also be shown to other regulated markets (again, just Ontario for now).

The main purpose of info sharing is to prevent banned and self-excluded gamblers from accessing legal online gambling sites in Alberta and other provinces.

Bill 48 establishes that excess revenue from regulatory operations should be transferred to Alberta's General Revenue Fund. In other words, licensing fees and taxes collected from iGaming operators will go to the province. Once in the General Revenue Fund, the tax profits will be distributed according to designated programs.

Must be 18 years or older and otherwise eligible to register and place wagers in Alberta. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, please seek assistance from trained professionals such as the Addiction Hotline at 1-866-322-2322.

Jeremy Olson