Northern Exposure: Play Alberta Sportsbook Launches App

Greg Warren
Written by: Greg Warren

Each week, Canada Sports Betting recaps all the top sports betting and iGaming news in Canada and highlights upcoming events.

Our top stories this week

NorthStar’s Sports Insights 2.0

Ontario-based operator NorthStar Bets announced a revamped sports betting insights editorial vertical earlier this week: Sports Insights 2.0.

“Sports Insights 2.0 has been a major focus for our team this year and we are thrilled to share these new features with our customers,” said Chair and CEO of NorthStar Michael Moskowitz in a release. “Players have told us they place a high value on the ability to access quality, in-depth stats and information seamlessly within our betting environment. This differentiates us from competing platforms that continue to require players to use multiple apps to access the same information. The added content should keep our players engaged and help them make informed betting decisions.”

Some of the new editorial features include:

  • A redesigned home page offering an improved user experience, a three-story rotating carousel showcasing the most important content, articles grouped by topic (MLB, NFL, casino, etc.) and a “Live Now” strip promoting live betting markets and other promotional priorities.
  • More casino content, including tips, strategies, game reviews and casino lifestyle articles.
  • A comprehensive suite of team and player statistics for major league sports, including football, baseball, hockey, and basketball.
  • Enhanced coverage of popular betting sports such as soccer, NCAA football and CFL.
  • Injury and player news feeds for NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL from industry leader RotoWire.

The operator says frequent Sports Insights visitors, in comparison to non-readers, generate 118% higher average deposits, 58% higher average casino turnover, and 110% higher average sports turnover.

NorthStar Bets is a licensed operator in Ontario since May 2022 and one of CSB’s preferred sportsbooks. It’s also available all across Canada following its acquisition of spreads.ca.

WPT Global teams up with Phil Kessel

Phil Kessel is WPT (World Poker Tour) Global’s latest brand ambassador, they jointly announced in an email release on Monday.

Kessel will be working closely with WPT Global’s “Team Canada” player engagement team for a WPT event at the Playground Festival in Montreal from Oct. 14-30.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome Phil to the WPT Global brand,” said Alex Scott, president of WPT Global. “Phil has not only excelled as a world-class ice hockey player but is also a huge poker enthusiast who embodies the values we hold dear. He’s engaging, passionate, and always striving to improve — qualities that make him a perfect fit for the WPT Global poker community. His unique connection to both sports and poker gives him the ability to bridge those worlds, and we’re excited to deliver unforgettable experiences for our players, especially in Canada, both on and off the felt.”

“I’m incredibly excited to work with WPT Global. I have been an avid poker player for over 20 years, and a huge fan of the World Poker Tour,” said Kessel, a three-time Stanley Cup champion. ”I can’t wait to kick-off this relationship in Montreal and bring some cool experiences to fans.”

In addition to his in-person appearance in Montreal, Kessel is hosting his very own Ironman Tournament on WPT Global (online) on Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. EST. The winner will receive a WPT World Championship Package, including travel to Las Vegas, hotel accommodations, dinner, golf with Phil, and entry to the $10,400 WPT World Championship Main Event. Several other Kessel-related prizes are also up for grabs.

WPT Global is a grey market website in Canada, as it holds a gaming license in Curacao. Online poker players in Ontario have several regulated websites to choose from, including 888Poker, BetMGM Poker, GGPoker.ca, PartyPoker, and PokerStars.

Play Alberta’s app launch

The Play Alberta sportsbook is now available for download (Apple App and Google Play stores) on Apple and Android as of Wednesday.

Sports bettors in the province of Alberta can expect the app to mirror the current website. The app will integrate PlayAlberta.ca’s responsible gambling features, including the GameSense and Self-Exclusion programs, giving players access to resources such as bet, loss and time limits and cool-off settings. Sports bettors will have access to betting markets for over 50 sports and leagues, including the NHL, NFL, CFL, NBA and MLB.

Casino, lottery, instants, and live dealer products will all be added in the second phase of the app launch, which is expected in the first half of 2025.

“Mobile sports betting continues to evolve for Play Alberta with our new app, available to Apple and Android users, that optimizes their experience while accessing our product,” said Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis Executive President of Business Development, Steve Lautischer, in an email release. “In addition to unique, Alberta-based markets, the app gives bettors added security when signing up and using the platform, knowing that their personal and financial information are safe.”

PlayAlberta.ca, the only legal online gambling site in Alberta, is a leader in the iGaming landscape in the province. This past year, online gaming in Alberta generated $235 million in net sales, an increase of more than $42 million from 2022-23. All money generated through the site supports provincial programs and services that Albertans rely on every day.

Alberta has plans to launch a regulated online gambling market in 2025, which means AGLC and its Play Alberta platform will lose its legal monopoly in the space once private operators are permitted to enter the marketplace in the province.

CGA appears before Senate Committee on Bill S-269

The Canadian Gaming Association, a national trade association that works to advance the evolution of Canada’s gaming industry, represented by President and CEO Paul Burns, appeared in Ottawa last week to testify at the Standing Committee for Transportation & Communications regarding the Senate’s study of Bill S-269, the National Framework on Advertising for Sports Betting Act.

The organization introduced facts and evidence with the aim to make it clear that the measures outlined in the Bill aren’t necessary because provincial management and oversight of gaming activity in Canada already exists. Canada already has a very effective regime of advertising compliance thanks to ThinkTV and Ad Standards Canada, who for decades have provided pre-clearance services to advertisers.

Burns presented that there are already more than 20 measures in place related to gambling advertising, including the overarching regulation that advertising, marketing materials and communications shall not target high-risk, underage or self-excluded persons. Some of the examples he provided from Ontario’s regulated online gambling market include:

  • Creation of the soon-to-be-launched centralized self-exclusion program.
  • Prevent minors from accessing online accounts – with account sign up rules that are rooted in Canada’s anti-money laundering legislation for setting up gaming accounts.
  • Verifying age, identity & location.
  • Players must opt-in to receive promotional offers.
  • Prohibition on mass market advertising of bonuses and incentives – something that is still permitted in the UK.
  • Prominently promote and make available tools to support responsible play – i.e. setting time, wager, and loss limits and a range of time-out settings (from hours to months) as well as the ability to self-exclude.

Burns stressed that other provinces have the tools and are in the best position to regulate their respective markets, and that an additional layer of federal regulations is not required as it pertains to advertising.

Burns also provided the following data on online gaming advertising in conjunction with Media Radar/Vivvix:

  • Compared to all other activity in Canada, online gambling has only represented 2% of all TV ad occurrences in 2022 and 2023.
  • When compared to other key categories, online gambling represents an 8% share of total media ad spend.
  • Only 6% of NHL hockey game occurrences were for online gambling ads, and 4% for NBA basketball game occurrences.
  • There is an overall 15% decrease in TV ad spend during the last third of the year, comparing 2023 vs. 2022, during peak sports programming.

The bill, which was introduced by Senator Marty Deacon in June of last year to establish a new national framework on advertising for sports betting in the wake of the legalization of single-event sports wagering, has now progressed to a third reading in the Senate before the bill is potentially passed on to the House of Commons for another long, exhaustive legislative process.