Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis (AGLC) has announced that it intends to roll out a brand new sportsbook in Alberta sometime this August. This new sportsbook will not compete with the lottery-run Play Alberta sportsbook. Instead, the new sportsbook will replace Play Alberta.
Play Alberta is currently operated by sports betting company NeoPollard Interactive. BtoBet, a sister company of NeoPollard Interactive, will now be responsible for installing the upgrades to Play Alberta and running the new site.
Article Highlight
- The new Play Alberta sportsbook will have significantly more features than the existing sports betting site in Alberta.
- “By using Play Alberta, money played in Alberta stays in Alberta.”
- The new Play Alberta site will be run by BtoBet.
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New sportsbook means new features
One of the major talking points from AGLC’s announcement is that the new Play Alberta sportsbook will have significantly more features than the existing sports betting site in Alberta. Expanded player props, single game parlays, and additional markets and leagues are the biggest new features sports bettors in Alberta should look out for.
Dan Keene, Vice President of Gaming at AGLC, said in the AGLC statement that “Soon, players can choose from a variety of new, pre-game props, in-game bets or unique, same-game parlays.”
AGLC also says that “additional outright bets and new promotional options such as boosted odds and parlay multipliers” will be coming with the new-and-improved Play Alberta site as well.
This will mark a major improvement in the product available to Alberta residents, helping them enjoy a stronger legal betting market.
This is a major boost to sports betting fans in Alberta. At the time of writing, there are no other legal sports betting sites in Alberta besides Play Alberta. By offering more betting markets, Play Alberta becomes a more attractive sports betting site for Albertans than illegal sports betting sites that remain popular all over Canada.
This is part of the effect that has been caused by the open market in Ontario.
Improvements to responsible gaming features are also on the cards for AGLC and Play Alberta. Through their statement, AGLC said of the new sportsbook that, “The fully-managed sportsbook will continue to integrate AGLC’s responsible gambling programs, GameSense and Self-Exclusion, giving players dedicated features that promote healthy gambling habits, such as bet, loss and daily session limits.”
Playlberta raised $1.5 billion in 2022-23
Sports betting and its negative consequences have been major news in Canada following the legalization of sports betting back in 2021. However, many of the provinces with legal sports betting, like Alberta, have tended to point out that there are many significant positives of legal sports betting sites in Canada. The biggest positive is how much money it raises for local governments.
“By using Play Alberta, money played in Alberta stays in Alberta. All revenue generated through Play Alberta goes to the provincial government to support valued programs and services that Albertans rely on every day” said AGLC in their statement announcing its new sportsbook.
According to AGLC, iGaming in Alberta generated $1.5 billion in net gaming income for the province’s general revenue fund from all provincial gaming activities. Alberta recently voted against opening its sports betting market to private-sector sportsbooks. If Alberta changes its mind after the success of the new Play Alberta site, we expect there to be much more gaming income in Alberta.
There are several legal sports betting sites in Ontario thanks to the province’s relatively lax sports betting laws compared to the other provinces. In Ontario, legal sportsbooks alone brought in $7 billion in wagers in 2022-23.
Upgrades coming via BtoBet partnership
Play Alberta is currently run by NeoPollard Interactive, a sports betting technology company based in Israel. The new Play Alberta site will be run by BtoBet, which is a sister company of NeoPollard Interactive. The new Play Alberta will be the only casino site in North America operated by BtoBet.
Both BtoBet and NeoPollard Interactive are owned by NeoGames. NeoGames is one of the biggest names in online gaming. The Israel-founded company is listed on the NASDAQ stock and was recently acquired by Australian company Aristocrat for $1.2 billion USD.
Noah Strang is an experienced sports writer having covered many professional sports leagues across North America. He has worked extensively covering the NHL and been accredited media for the Vegas Golden Knights in the past. He’s also known as one of the best iGaming writers across Canada with extensive experience covering the development of legal sports betting across the country. He was born and raised in Vancouver, BC, and enjoys taking advantage of the coastline. When not writing, you can find him watching whatever sport is on TV or playing pickup basketball.