PlayAlberta.ca, currently the only regulated gambling website in the province, has announced a new multi-year partnership with the Calgary Stampede.
Play Alberta, now the exclusive igaming and sports betting partner of the show, will provide new and unique markets to bettors during the 2024 Calgary Stampede, which started Friay and runs through July 14. Play Alberta is the first gambling platform ever to offer odds on the rodeo and chuckwagon events at the show.
“The partnership between PlayAlberta.ca and the Calgary Stampede will drive entertainment value up for legal-aged Albertans,” said Kandice Machado, Chief Executive Officer, Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis. “Play Alberta can now present new and exciting sports betting markets at the Calgary Stampede Rodeo, such as barrel racing, chuckwagons, 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.”
The Play Alberta brand will also be visible at the Calgary Stampede, including high-profile spots like the chuckwagon finish line and pit signs along the rodeo’s exterior wall.
This latest deal is an example of the government igaming site getting ahead of what will no doubt be a stampede of private operators coming into the Alberta market as the province pushes toward an Ontario-style, open, regulated, competitive, igaming model.
At the recent Canadian Gaming Summit in Toronto, the Hon. Dale Nally, Minister of Service and Red Tape Reduction, Province of Alberta, in a presentation opened the door to the new market. A political decision has been made that this is the course Albertans will be taking. It’s a matter of when, not if.
With more than 313,000 registered player accounts on PlayAlberta.ca, the website generated $179 million in net sales for 2022-23. That number contributes to the $1.5 billion in total gambling revenue that’s sent to Alberta’s General Revenue Fund.
The Calgary Stampede is an annual event that delivers an authentic western experience, attracting visitors from Canada and abroad to Alberta. In 2023, 1.4 million guests attended the Stampede, the second-highest attendance in the 111-year history of the event.
