Alberta unveils online gambling website, expects to raise $150M in five years

Albertansare now able togamble online on a provincially-regulatedgaming site.

"PlayAlberta.ca makes certain that money played in Alberta will stay in Alberta, ensures protection on account withdrawals and offers a suite of responsible gambling features, such as bet and time limits," Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis said Thursday.

The website launched with virtual slots and table games Thursday, with more features to beadded in the coming months,Alain Maisonneuve, AGLCpresident and CEO, said at a news conference.

The province estimates the site will raise $3.74 millionin 2021.

"Within five years, we're estimating that our site will generate approximately $150 million for Alberta," said Niaz Nejad, chief operating officer of AGLC.

Maisonneuve said he expects the revenue will be new money and not affect other gaming opportunities in the province.

"We don't anticipate PlayAlberta to be cannibalizing from land-based casinos and racingentertainment centres in Alberta, as we're focused on ... giving options to online players who may be playing currently on unregulated offshore sites," he said.

"So that's ourtarget market, that's what we're going for. Those are the funds that we want to repatriate into Alberta coffers."

The AGLC estimatesAlbertaresidents were already spending $378million gambling onwebsitesset up outside the country, many which areunregulated.

The siteintegrates AGLC's best-in-class GameSense responsible gambling program, which promotes healthy gambling, Maisonneuve said.

When signing up, Albertans will be required to verify their identity before accessingthe platform's features.

Earlier this year AGLC announced NeoPollard Interactive would buildAlberta's online gambling platform. The companyprovides online gambling platforms forother jurisdictions including Michigan,Virginia, New Hampshire and North Carolina.

The province began looking at online gambling in early 2019.At the time Alberta and Saskatchewan were the only two provinces that did notoffer a regulatedservice.