The Canadian province of Alberta will be delaying the launch of its regulated igaming market, according to the Press Secretary of the Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally.
Back in June at SBC’s Canadian Gaming Summit, Nally spoke about Alberta’s plans for its igaming market, specifically its desire to have an open-market model similar to that of Ontario.
Since then, speculation has grown over the potential launch date. However, speaking to Canadian Gaming Business, Nally’s Press Secretary Brandon Aboultaif confirmed that plans will still be laid out in 2025, but the office needs more time for discussions with stakeholders.
Aboultaif said: “As the gaming industry continues to evolve globally and in Alberta, we want to ensure a conducive business environment while protecting the health and safety of Albertans, particularly our youth. We want to get our igaming strategy right by ensuring fairness and transparency to everyone.
“Industry stakeholders have told us that we need to continue our conversations so they can provide more input on the model. We are doing just that. Further engagements will also help to identify opportunities to align the strategy with our red tape reduction priorities.
“While we aim to put the strategy forward in 2025, we will continue to provide updates as this work unfolds.”
Potential dates speculated for the Alberta igaming market launch included early next year and later in 2025 in time for the Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup in November.
However, Paul Burns, CEO and President of the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA), told Canadian Gaming Business that such a timeline was unrealistic given what was needed for the regulated market to go live.
Burns said: “I think there was a growing concern about just how they were going to get everything done in the time required. I think the government is evaluating its timelines and making sure they can meet all of the objectives they’re setting out for themselves, and they’re giving themselves a few more months to be able to do the work.”
While some consultations have been completed, such as with Alberta’s First Nations, many more stakeholder consultations still need to be finalised, in addition to cabinet-level decisions and approvals.
CGA recommended to Alberta decision-makers that it replicates parts of Ontario’s igaming model, but it also needs to include land-based operators in its discussions.
Decisions must be made on how the province’s igaming market will be managed. Nally said back in June that the provincial Justice Minister would be responsible for Alberta’s igaming market, not Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis.
Burns also told Canadian Gaming Business that Alberta also needs to examine the Ontario Superior Court lawsuit involving the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) as it featured “some of the best language and direction and case law on conduct and manage we’ve ever seen in terms of its plain language and its approach”.
The CGA CEO believes that Alberta can find a way to manage compliance correctly if it reviews the lawsuit, which ultimately ruled against the MCK challenge that the iGaming Ontario’s framework was “illegal and unconstitutional”.
Burns concluded: “The timeline has paused but I don’t believe there’s any less commitment to getting this done. I just think there’s a very good commitment to getting it right. There’s a lot of work to do. They recognise that, they understand that and they’re taking more time to get it right. That’s the encouraging part.”
In a big development for the country’s casino regulation, Thailand’s Finance Minister Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat, has revealed the draft law on entertainment venues is set to be introduced before the end of the year.
The Bangkok Post reported that Julapan underlined the significant employment prospects of the plans and integrated resort bill as he ‘hopes as many Thais as possible will be employed in the entertainment complexes, which may require training to ensure they have the necessary skills’.
Furthermore, he also lauded the impact that the sector could have on Thailand when it comes to being attractive to foreign tourists.
Whilst it is yet to be fully cemented where the casinos will be located, the recently appointed Prime Minister of Thailand, Paetongtarn Shinawatra has laid out support for a trio of locations in Bangkok.
As reported by Inside Asian Gaming, this has been backed by JP Morgan, which cited just how lucrative IR venues could be in Bangkok.
Significantly she has also hinted that these newly regulated entertainment venues will be able to grant 10% of their floor space to gaming, as opposed to the previously touted 5%.
If this proposal comes to fruition it would undoubtedly be seen as a major incentive to those operators looking to forge a footprint in Thailand.
It had been predicted that Thailand’s debut casino could open as soon as 2029, as the path to a regulatory framework continues to accelerate.
Furthermore, the lucrative plans already have the backing of the country’s wider governance as it was propped up by studies that revealed just how significant the financial uplift could be for the Thai economy.
The progress in Thailand has inevitably spiked the interest of operators with a strong footprint in the region, as Chinese language Malaysian media outlet Sin Chew Daily recently reported that Genting’s Malaysia-facing brand is eyeing Thailand as a potential venture for the firm.
Bidding processes for the casinos are also set to be completed this year, which will also be required to go through regulatory sign off procedures.
