Pragmatic Play has gone live in Alberta after certifying its online slots and live casino portfolio for the Canadian province, which opened its regulated iGaming market to private operators on 13 July.
The certification lets licensed operators in Alberta carry the supplier’s content through its single API integration. Certified titles include the slots Fury of Anubis, Big Bass Blast and the Gates of Olympus series, alongside live casino tables covering blackjack, baccarat and roulette and a range of game show formats.
A second open market in Canada
Alberta is the second Canadian province, after Ontario, to run a competitive iGaming market in which private operators and suppliers take part directly. Most other provinces channel online gambling through government-owned lottery corporations. The shift gives suppliers a fresh commercial market rather than a single state customer.
The framework splits oversight between two bodies. Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) handles registration, compliance and responsible gambling standards, while the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC), a newly created Crown agency, manages commercial agreements and financial reporting. Operators must register with AGLC before onboarding with the AiGC, and suppliers must have their content certified before it can go live.
More than two dozen operators registered ahead of the July launch, with names including BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel and bet365 among those preparing to compete. That operator base sets the size of the addressable market for content suppliers such as Pragmatic Play. The province joins a wider Canadian online gambling market that has been reshaped by Ontario’s regulated launch in 2022.
Building on Ontario
Pragmatic Play already supplies content in Ontario, where its games run across multiple licensed brands. The Alberta certification extends that footprint into a second regulated province and adds to the supplier’s position among the largest B2B gambling suppliers operating across North America.
Sharon McHugh, Director of PR at Pragmatic Play, framed the launch as an extension of the company’s Canadian strategy.
Alberta represents an exciting new adventure for regulated iGaming in Canada, and Pragmatic Play is delighted to be among the first suppliers bringing premium entertainment to operators and their players from day one.
Building on our strong momentum in Ontario, this expansion reinforces Pragmatic Play’s long-term commitment to the Canadian market. We look forward to working closely with partners across the province as the market continues to develop.
What the launch tests
Alberta’s model differs from Ontario in the detail. The legal gambling age is set at 18 rather than 19, and betting on political elections is not permitted. How quickly content certified for Ontario clears the Alberta process will shape how fast suppliers can build out their catalogues in the new market.
For Pragmatic Play, the immediate test is distribution. Certified content only earns revenue once operators integrate and promote it, and the supplier now competes for slot and live casino placement against every other studio certified for the province. The pace of that rollout over the coming months will show whether Alberta becomes a material market for suppliers or a smaller adjunct to Ontario.
Source: Pragmatic Play
