Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) has ramped up its sports-betting markets on the Play Alberta ( platform, capitalizing on the buzz around the Edmonton Oilers appearance in the Stanley Cup.

The Oilers and Florida Panthers faced off in Game 1 on Saturday, and AGLC is the only game in town for legal sports betting in the province. Prior to Saturday’s game, 40.5 percent of all futures bets had been placed on the Oilers to win the Stanley Cup, with 4.5 percent of the bets on the Panthers.

According to Dan Keene, VP of Gaming for AGLC, that AGLC has the legal igaming monopoly doesn’t matter. There’s a front-and-center opportunity to jump on the excitement of the Oilers being in the Cup final (no Canadian team has won the Cup since 1993) and further build the Play Alberta sports-betting brand, which will be even more important if the Alberta government implements an Ontario-style competitive igaming model, as is being reported.

Alberta still has an active market of illegal igaming sites.

According to AGLC, with over 313,000 registered player accounts, Play Alberta, which launched in late 2020, has generated a projected $5.36 billion in total bets for 2023-24 and the site has captured over 45 percent of Alberta’s overall igaming market (according to H2 Gambling Capital estimates).

This past year, Play Alberta generated $179 million in net sales (an increase of more than $35 million from 2021-22), contributing to the $1.5 billion in total gambling revenue that goes back to government coffers to support provincial programs and services.

CDC Gaming Reports spoke with Keene ahead of tonight’s Game 1.

CDC: Can we get your perspective on what’s going on in gaming in terms of the excitement and buzz about the Stanley Cup final?

DK: It’s phenomenal. We’re seeing exponential increases. And we have each round. We’ve seen increases in both wagers and unique players round by round. Of course, we got a lot of action on the futures bets in terms of the Oilers, over 40% of the futures on the Oilers to win it all. We’re offering a lot of custom promotions, and custom markets, through the playoffs. We’ve got more than 10 odds boosts on every game. We have daily prebuilt parlays for every game. We’ve got parlay boosts on all NHL games. And we’re doing a lot of giveaways, so anytime you can place a wager on any NHL market that was offered in the playoffs, you get entered into a chance to win some tickets to an Oilers home game or a suite. We’re hosting a suite every round and we’re doing giveaways of season tickets for next year.

CDC: So you’re really spicing it up in terms of Stanley Cup markets?

DK: Those 10-times-odds boosts and the daily prebuilt parlays, those are a must on any sportsbook now. So we’re really pleased to be able to do that. But I would say it’s at a fever pitch. The whole city is going crazy. We had just under 20% on Connor McDavid winning the Conn Smythe [most valuable player for the playoffs]. When the Oilers had the tough start to the season, the futures odds to win the Cup skyrocketed. We had 66 bettors jump on the peak of +2200. So some players are really invested in what’s going to happen. And we always encourage folks to play responsibly and use the GameSense tools.

CDC: How are you able to offer a better service than what the illegal igaming platforms are offering in the province right now?

DK: It’s several things. We’re always working on enhancements. So we’re going to have a doubling of slot content. We’re going to offer more payment providers [like PayPal and ApplePay]. We’re going to offer more social-responsibility tools on the site. We’re going to be offering an app, which has been something we’ve been working on and wanting for some time. That is tentative to launch in September. It’ll be sports only to start, but then it’ll be all verticals early next calendar year. So of course, that’s a huge huge enhancement for the overall product. Our competitors are always enhancing, always improving, and Play Alberta is still early in its journey, right? But we’re really pleased with the roadmap in place and continue to make those enhancements.

CDC: Do you agree that the buzz around the Oilers and everything they’re generating is an opportunity to further build the Play Alberta brand and the service and you’re capitalizing on that?

DK: 100% agree. We’re a proud sponsor of the Edmonton Oilers. We’re on the home helmets. We’re on the ice. The reality is play in Alberta stays in Alberta, so the revenues generated on Play Alberta are used to support the programs and services that Albertans rely on every day. The ability to capitalize on this buzz and the activity that’s going on in the marketplace, you don’t get there every year. It’s a massive massive opportunity for sure.

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