Alberta iGaming revenue hits $56.6M in September

Alberta’s regulated online gambling market generated $56.6 million in non-adjusted gross gaming revenue in September, up from $43.3 million in August, according to the first market performance report from the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC).

The Crown corporation’s September 2026 report covers the period from July 13, when the province opened the market to private operators, to Sept. 30. Revenue was $22.2 million in July, which counts only the final 19 days of the month, so the three months add up to about $122 million.

Active player accounts rose to 388,585 in September from 314,091 in August and 226,959 in July. The AiGC said the figure counts accounts rather than unique players, because one person can hold accounts with several operators. Average revenue per active account was $146 in September, up from $98 in July.

Casino games accounted for 75.6 per cent of September revenue, sports and event betting for 19.5 per cent and live casino games for 4.9 per cent. Casinos.com, which reported the report’s monthly tables, said sports betting revenue more than doubled from August to September, to $11.1 million from $5.2 million. The AiGC did not attribute the increase to a single cause.

Marvin Lim, the corporation’s vice-president of operations, told CBC News that the figures show strong adoption of the regulated market. He said revenue could shift somewhat toward sports betting as the NHL, NFL and NBA seasons get under way.

The market opened with 15 operators and had 24 by Sept. 30, with more going through the approval process, Lim said. He credited Ontario, which opened its online market in 2022, with advising Alberta on its framework, including a self-exclusion program that was in place at launch. Players can use it to bar themselves from casinos, racing entertainment centres and regulated online platforms for six months or up to three years.

AiGC chief executive Dan Keene said in a news release that early results indicate Albertans value the oversight and accountability of a regulated market. The corporation described the data as preliminary and said it does not represent the whole iGaming market, since operators were onboarded gradually. The report does not measure how many Albertans still gamble on unlicensed sites.

Two per cent of gross gaming revenue goes to support First Nations and one per cent to social responsibility programs, CBC reported. The AiGC said it will publish the report monthly.

The report comes as MPs in Ottawa weigh a bill to restrict sports betting advertising. Our earlier piece on setting guardrails before betting on sports has tips for players.

Sources: Alberta iGaming Corporation, CBC News, Casinos.com. Wager totals and monthly figures are the AiGC’s, are preliminary and are subject to revision.

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