Penn Expects theScore Bet to Shine in Alberta’s iGaming Market

Alberta prepares to launch its competitive iGaming market. Alberta’s conservative government is following Ontario’s lead, which began its open, regulated iGaming market in April 2022. The Hon. Dale Nally, Minister of Service and Red Tape Reduction for Alberta, indicated that the province’s progress is advancing smoothly.

“I can’t give you an exact date, but I can tell you that I think people are going to be surprised by how fast we get this done … and roll this out,” Nally told CDC Gaming Reports in July.

Regulatory Goals and Market Insights

The regulatory framework in Alberta aims to focus on consumer protection, curbing illegal market activities, generating government revenue, and safeguarding land-based casinos.

Paul Burns, President and CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association, noted the complexity of Alberta’s gaming market, which generated over $2.9 billion last year. “It will look a lot like Ontario on some level. We have encouraged them to look at Ontario in of regulatory standards. That makes it easier for companies to evaluate the marketplace. It doesn’t mean everyone is going to go. The market may not be for everybody, given its size. But you want people to be interested. It is a good gaming market, we know that.”

theScore Bet’s Anticipated Entry

Ontario, is anticipated to enter the Alberta market when it opens. Jay Snowden, CEO and President of Penn Entertainment, which owns theScore Bet, emphasized the attractiveness of Alberta’s market. With nearly four million unique digital bettors and operations in 19 North American jurisdictions, Penn is eager to expand.

“We expect to further increase our digital footprint with prospective launches of ESPN in New York subject to regulatory approval and theScore Bet in Alberta when the market eventually opens,” Snowden said during an earnings call this week, elaborating on Penn’s Q2 fiscal 2024 report. “Both with online sports betting and iCasino, we expect Alberta to be a very strong market for us, given the power of theScore Bet brand in that market and the success we have seen in Ontario.”

Snowden added, “We don’t have an exact date on Alberta and I don’t want to speak for the government or the regulators there. But I would say, we’re thinking sometime toward the end of this year or early 2025 as the rough time frame [for a market launch]. We would anticipate that the success that we’ve seen in Ontario with theScore Bet, we would be able to replicate that in Alberta. … theScore is a very popular brand throughout Canada. It’s not just a Toronto or Ontario thing. So given the success we’ve had in Ontario, and given that Alberta will have very similar tax rates as we understand it, and be both OSB and iCasino, we think it’s going to be a really important North American market for us, probably a two top three or four market for us.”

Source:

Penn expects theScore Bet to be part of Alberta’s igaming offering, cdcgaming.com, August 9, 2024.