Alberta’s Regulated Online Casinos Took C$122.1 Million in Their First 80 Days

Alberta’s regulated iGaming market generated C$122.1 million in non-adjusted gross gaming revenue between its July 13 launch and September 30, according to the first market performance report from the Alberta iGaming Corporation. AiGC, the Crown corporation that conducts and manages the market for the province, published the figures on Friday, October 23.

The report doesn’t print a single headline total. It breaks the money out by month, with C$22.2 million in the partial month of July, C$43.3 million in August and C$56.6 million in September. Add them up and you get the C$122.1 million. Players put a combined C$2.89 billion in wagers through the regulated Alberta sites over the same stretch.

What the C$122.1 Million Actually Measures

The number is easy to misread, so it’s worth being exact. AiGC defines non-adjusted gross gaming revenue, or NAGGR, as “the aggregate amount of Wagers less the aggregate amount of Winnings.” It’s what operators kept after paying out winners, before their own costs and before the province takes its share. It isn’t profit, and it isn’t tax.

The figures also come with caveats. AiGC says the data “is unaudited and may be subject to revision or adjustment,” and that it reflects operators being onboarded gradually through the period, so the results “are not a full representation of the total iGaming market.”

Operators Kept Arriving

The market opened on July 13 with 15 operators and had 24 by September 30, according to AiGC. The provincial government counted 22 registered sites on launch day. AiGC’s own directory of registered sites now lists names such as bet365, BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, theScore Bet and Stake, and the corporation expects “several more iGaming Operators to move to the regulated market by the end of this calendar year.”

Casino Games Carried the Market

Casino games did most of the work. Over the three months, AiGC’s product table puts C$95.5 million of the C$122.1 million in its Casino category, which covers Slots, jackpot Slots, Table Games, Poker and Keno. In September, casino games took 75.6% of revenue, sports and event betting 19.5% and Live Casino 4.9%.

Sports betting was the fastest climber in the final month. Betting revenue went from C$5.2 million in August to C$11.1 million in September, and its share of the market rose from 12.1% to 19.5%.

More Accounts, More Spend Per Account

Active player accounts grew from 226,959 in July to 388,585 in September. Those are accounts, not people, since one player can hold accounts with several operators. Average revenue per active account rose from C$98 to C$146 over the same three months.

Operators kept about 4.2% of everything wagered. Across the period, AiGC’s figures show C$2,885.1 million in wagers against C$2,762.9 million paid back out in winnings.

How Ontario’s First Quarter Compares

Ontario’s first report makes a useful yardstick. iGaming Ontario reported C$162 million in gaming revenue on C$4,076 million in cash wagers from April 4 to June 30, 2022, with 18 operators and 31 sites live by the end of June.

That puts Alberta’s 80-day total at about three quarters of what Ontario took in its first 88 days. Ontario’s operators also kept about 4% of the money wagered, almost the same margin.

The Province’s Own Site Still Competes

Ontario’s first report excluded OLG’s igaming offering. Alberta’s covers the operators that have an operating agreement with AiGC, and AiGC says Play Alberta “will continue to operate as the province’s own government-run platform, competing alongside regulated private operators.” The Alberta government said in January that PlayAlberta generated C$275 million in net sales in its most recent year and held only an estimated 23%-32% of the total market.

Where Alberta’s Share Goes

Alberta keeps 20% of net iGaming revenue and operators keep 80%. Before that split, 3% of gross gaming revenue is set aside, with 2% for First Nations initiatives and 1% for social responsibility programs such as education, research and treatment.

AiGC chief executive Dan Keene said the early results show demand for oversight. “Early results indicate that Albertans value the strong oversight and greater accountability offered by a regulated market,” Keene said. “We hope to continue educating Albertans about the risks associated with illegal offshore sites and move them onto regulated platforms where they have rights and recourse when iGaming.”

From now on, AiGC will publish its market report every month. Before launch, the province estimated that about 70% of online gambling in Alberta went through unregulated operators, and AiGC’s stated goal is to flip that, with a 70% channelization rate after year one and 75% by year two.