Sports betting: Alberta looking at Ontario's privatized model

With the Edmonton Oilers one step closer to a Stanley Cup win, fans are flocking to online gambling sites to make their picks and predictions with the hope they can also win big.

Many Albertans place bets using popular online sports betting apps. There's just one problem…they aren't legal, but that could soon change.

There is a possibility the province could privatize sports betting but there are concerns about Alberta's only online regulated option.

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"I've heard it's very, very hard to use," online gambler Andrew Kalavrias said.

"I want my money to be there, I don't want any issues with withdrawing it," Cris Dimas, another online gambler, said.

Unreliable, inconvenient and complicated are some of the ways the province's only regulated online betting website, Play Alberta, is described by users.

"I honestly don't know anyone, in my family or friend group, who actually uses Play Alberta," Dimas said.

Instead, users are turning to popular online betting apps.

"They are not illegal, they just aren't legal," said Canadian Gaming Association president and CEO Paul Burns.

He calls it the grey market — online betting sites without any oversight or regulation.

In Ontario, there are more than 45 private operators that offer legal online gambling.

"Almost 92 per cent of sports betting now occurs in a regulated environment because of the actions taken by the province versus 10 or 12 per cent in the rest of the country," Burns said.

That private plan is paying off. Last year, $63 billion in wagers were placed in Ontario with the province taking home 20 per cent, or $2.4 billion.

Now Alberta is looking at something similar.

"We are taking a look at the Ontario model and seeing how that would work in Alberta," said Dale Nally, minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction.

"We will make a decision after we have consulted with First Nations partners and once we've heard what Albertans have to say on this matter."

Gambling researcher Brian Soebbing says the province's plan needs to be responsible, including campaigns communicating the risks of problem gambling, rules for advertisers and reinvesting revenues into resources.

"What some of the studies…are finding is that sports betting has found some increase in terms of problem gambling," he said.

The minister wouldn't say when the new platform would be available, only hinting it may be ready in time for the 2025 Stanley Cup.