Play Alberta will be the first online gambling platform ever to offer odds on certain events at the Calgary Stampede as part of a new exclusive multi-year partnership.

The Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) site has signed a new deal to be the exclusive iGaming and sports betting partner of the Stampede. It will provide bettors with new and unique markets during the 2024 event which starts on Friday.

“The partnership between PlayAlberta.ca and the Calgary Stampede will drive entertainment value up for legal-aged Albertans,” said Kandice Machado, AGLC CEO. “Play Alberta can now present new and exciting sports betting markets at the Calgary Stampede Rodeo, such as barrel racing, chuck wagons and bareback riding, while at the same time present the Play Alberta brand throughout the Stampede – reminding players of the only safe-and-secure responsible gambling option currently available to them.”

Playalberta.ca’s Stampede offerings will include odds on the rodeo and chuckwagon events for the first time.

Play Alberta branding will be visible across the Stampede site, including at the chuckwagon finish line and pit signs along the rodeo’s exterior wall.

A summer of change for Play Alberta

The AGLC is embarking on a summer of change as consultations continue about the Alberta government launching a regulated commercial iGaming market in a similar vein to Ontario.

The commission will launch a Play Alberta app for the first time and expects to roughly double the size of its game portfolio on its site, AGLC VP of Gaming Dan Keene told Canadian Gaming Business last month.

Play Alberta is currently the only regulated online gaming platform in the province. Its app will offer sports betting only at first when it launches this fall but will ultimately expand to include all of the website’s gaming verticals.

“Play Alberta is still fairly young in its lifecycle and we’ve always had eyes on developing an app because it’s critical to the delivery of the product,” Keene said. He also stressed that a main motivation is to allow easier access to the platform’s suite of responsible gambling tools.

The AGLC platform has more than 313,000 registered users at the last count. Estimates suggest that playalberta.ca has captured around 45% of the province’s online gaming market. More than half of the overall market share is thought to be held by unregulated sites.