Just months before a prospective launch of a regulated online gambling market in Alberta, the province’s Crown commercial enterprise and agency that oversees the liquor, gaming, and cannabis industries announced a new agreement Monday with the Edmonton Oilers to become the team’s exclusive sports betting and online gambling partner.
As part of the revamped deal, Play Alberta, the province’s only legal online gambling provider in the province under Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis, will have a patch featured on the Oilers’ home jerseys this season. GameSense, AGLC’s responsible gambling program, will also be featured on the helmets of the players. Play Alberta will be granted unique marketing and promotional opportunities under the terms of the new deal.
“Play Alberta is proud to continue its partnership with the Edmonton Oilers over the next several seasons,” said AGLC CEO Kandice Machado in an email release. “We value our patrons and the fans of the Oilers and are thrilled to see PlayAlberta.ca, Alberta’s trusted gambling platform along with the best-in-class responsible gambling program – GameSense – as prominent fixtures on the Oilers uniforms.”
Last season, Play Alberta sponsored the Oilers’ home helmets as part of its existing partnership with the NHL team. The partnership between the two organizations has existed since 2022.
“We are proud to call Play Alberta the official sportsbook of the Edmonton Oilers,” said President & Chief Revenue Officer, OEG Sports & Entertainment, Stew MacDonald. “With the revenue generated by Play Alberta going to valued services and programs that help enrich the lives of Albertans, donning the Play Alberta logo on our iconic home jersey is a testament to our long-term commitment to communities across Oil Country.”
All revenue generated through the Crown corporation’s online gambling site is reinvested into the province’s General Revenue Fund, which helps fund local programs and services. This past year, PlayAlberta.ca generated $235 million in net sales, an increase of more than $42 million from 2022-23. That number contributes to the $1.5 billion in total gaming revenue that’s sent to Alberta’s General Revenue Fund and supports programs and services that Albertans rely on every day.
Connor McDavid, the captain of the Oilers, is a brand ambassador for BetMGM, alongside former Oiler and NHL megastar, Wayne Gretzky. BetMGM is one of the many private operators that are interested in launching in Alberta’s new competitive online gambling marketplace, once it’s up and running.
Play Alberta bracing for competition
The keyword in Monday’s announcement is “exclusive” as Play Alberta prepares to lose its legal monopoly on online sports betting in the province once Alberta opens up the space to private online gambling operators in the coming months. The Oilers, who have the shortest odds at around +800 to win the Stanley Cup next season at most online sportsbooks, are without a doubt the most storied professional sports franchise in the province, and inking an exclusive partnership with the NHL club could go a long way in keeping Play Alberta visible and relevant once other private operators launch their respective products to compete in the province.
We saw something similar in Ontario prior to the provincial government opening up its online gambling space to private competition in April 2022, with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s PROLINE brand inking major partnership deals with the “big four” professional sports leagues (NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB) in addition to one of the province’s most popular sports bars, Real Sports, in downtown Toronto. OLG is hopeful that it can retain 20% of the overall online market share moving forward despite the increased competition from roughly 50 private operators.
Once a launch date for the new market in Alberta is announced, private operators will be scrambling for marketing and partnership opportunities in an attempt to grab initial market share. In addition to the Oilers, the province’s other NHL team, the Calgary Flames, will be an attractive opportunity. The province also boasts two CFL franchises – the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Elks – that prospective online gambling operators could partner with. The Calgary Roughnecks of the NLL also call the province home.
Alberta’s provincial government has been working hard behind the scenes this summer in an attempt to get the new legal, regulated online gambling marketplace up and running as quickly as possible. The plan is to largely adopt Ontario’s model with a few tweaks that are unique to the region. Several details are still being worked out, and the government has yet to announce an official timeline for a launch, although it’s expected to happen later this year or in early 2025. The only detail we do know is that there won’t be an initial cap on the number of private operators allowed to compete in the online gambling marketplace alongside Play Alberta.
In the meantime, many of Alberta’s sports bettors continue to wager with illegal offshore online gambling operators, squandering the provincial government’s ability to collect valuable tax revenue from private operators to reinvest back into Alberta.
