Alberta to restrict public bonus advertising - What it means for bonus hunters

Alberta is in the final stages of launching its first private iGaming market, giving bettors in the province access to a more closely monitored online gambling environment, backed by local regulations.

Until now, Alberta operated primarily through a grey-market. Offshore betting sites without legal backing were able to accept Canadian players, however this will no longer be the case moving forward. 

The only legal platform prior to this change has been PlayAlberta, but bettors will now have access to over 13 sportsbooks and 22 casinos, all licensed by Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC). 

With this change, new regulations and compliance guidelines have been released that will hold betting sites operating in Alberta accountable for the services they offer and how they are advertised.

The AGLC's iGaming Guidance Document, released in April, provides clear language around how inducements, bonuses, and credits can be advertised in Alberta’s regulated iGaming market.

Interestingly, the AGLC’s Standards and Requirements for Internet Gaming, which outlines the rules licensed operators must follow, currently leaves Section 4.1 on Advertising and Promotions intentionally blank. 

However, the separate guidance document fills in an important part of that picture, stating that advertising and marketing which communicates gambling inducements, bonuses, and credits should only be offered on an operator’s gaming site or directly to players who have given consent.

Taken together, the guidance indicates that, as of Alberta’s July 13 iGaming launch, bettors should not expect to see publicly advertised bonus offers in the same way they might have in the past. 

Instead, Albertans looking for welcome bonuses, free bets, or other promotions may need to visit each licensed operator’s site directly or opt in to receive advertisment of promotions through channels such as email, SMS, or newsletters.

For bonus hunters, this will make it harder to track new promotional opportunities. Rather than searching for these offers online, players will need to check each site individually or provide explicit consent before operators can send inducement based promotions directly.