International liquidity may be more of a "great to have" and not a "need to have" for Alberta's huge sports betting and online casino betting shakeup.

- Alberta prepares to launch its regulated iGaming market this year and does not anticipate a continuous Supreme Court case to delay it.

- The case might impact rules around worldwide player pooling, which might impact online poker and daily dream sports in Alberta.

- Despite the legal uncertainty, Alberta is continuing while seeking input in the Supreme Court appeal.

The Western Canadian province is still continuing with a strategy to license and regulate a wide range of private-sector operators of online sportsbooks and casinos, with the launch of the brand-new regulated market expected to take place around the middle of this year.

There are, however, some significant legal matters that might impact how Alberta's competitive iGaming market will function. Those matters involve an effort to have the Supreme Court of Canada reverse a lower-court decision in Ontario that might permit for that province to connect its online gaming plan with those of other nations.

One fascinating aspect of the upcoming Alberta iGaming market is that operators can start signing up clients when they make an application for a license. No deposits yet, though. Here, for instance, is @PointsBetCanada revealing AB pre-reg is now open for clients: pic.twitter.com/tANclBf89H

Ontario believes international iGaming liquidity could help breathe life back into the province's online poker scene and perhaps provide a course for "pay-to-play" everyday fantasy contests to return. Those two verticals took a struck when Ontario released its competitive iGaming market in 2022, as the rules of the market need all gamers to be physically located in the province.

While the Supreme Court has yet to weigh in, when it does, it will bring severe weight. It's perhaps unsurprising, then, that the Chief Law Officer of Alberta recently filed a motion to intervene in the Supreme Court appeal, claiming that it "will have a substantial influence on determining the legality and operation of" the province's iGaming legislation.

Full speed ahead

Alberta, however, doesn't anticipate the Supreme Court appeal will delay its plan to launch Canada's second competitive market for iGaming.

"Alberta's federal government has submitted an intervention application and looks forward to taking part in that process to provide our insights," said Kevin Lee, press secretary to Alberta's de facto iGaming minister, Dale Nally, in a declaration to Covers on Tuesday. "This matter is not expected to impact the timing of Alberta's iGaming market launch this spring."

The remarks must provide some self-confidence to wagerers and operators that Alberta stays on track to launch its competitive iGaming market, which will bring the number of provincially controlled operators from one, Play Alberta, to ideally lots of.

There is a great deal of work delegated do before the new Alberta sports betting market opens, but development is being made.

Still, the legal uncertainty about international liquidity may also trigger some concern for poker connoisseurs and DFS gamers in Alberta. Ontario's poker and DFS scenes were struck hard by its competitive iGaming market, and Alberta is embracing a number of the same policies, consisting of that all players need to remain in the province.

Ontario continues to deal with that fallout, and it's why the provincial government there referred a concern to its Court of Appeal asking whether it would be legal to link its iGaming plan with jurisdictions. By linking to a U.S. state or another nation, the potential size of online poker video games might grow, and there could be enough there for DFS operators to re-engage in Ontario.

Updated with the newest, bullish chatter about when Alberta's new iGaming market will open. Sounds like a late Q2 launching is quite a possibility. https://t.co/TiLr61NIVu

A majority decision from the Court of Appeal for Ontario said the province's proposed sharing of iGaming liquidity with foreign jurisdictions would be legal. However, a union of government-owned lottery games appealed the Ontario decision to the Supreme Court of Canada, keeping things lawfully uncertain for the foreseeable future.

It's likewise uncertain exactly what will take place in Alberta, namely, if poker video games will shrink and DFS contests will shutter. It's also possible that Ontario and Alberta consent to share iGaming liquidity in between themselves, which could help.