888 Becomes Alberta’s First Regulated Online Poker Operator
The locally licensed site offers cash games and tournaments, but its players remain in an Alberta-only pool.
- 888 launched its locally licensed Alberta poker platform on Oct. 13 as the province’s first and only regulated poker operator.
- The room runs in a separate Alberta-only pool, requiring players to use new software and accounts.
- The opening schedule includes Hold’em and Omaha cash games, guaranteed tournaments, Mystery Bounties and knockout events.
- Alberta-Ontario or international poker liquidity remains unresolved after the Supreme Court hearing.
888 has become the first and only operator to offer regulated online poker in Alberta, launching its locally licensed 888 Alberta platform on Tuesday. The site offers Hold’em and Omaha cash games, plus scheduled guaranteed tournaments, and is separate from the company’s Ontario and international poker pools.
Pokerfuse reported that Alberta players must download new software and open new accounts for the service. They cannot currently play at the same tables as customers in 888’s Ontario or international markets.
As we reported in July, Alberta’s regulated iGaming market opened without poker because the province required a ring-fenced player pool. The three-month transition period that had allowed some operators to keep serving the province under applicable arrangements ended Oct. 13, while locally regulated operators need an Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis licence.
The 888 launch makes Alberta the second Canadian province where the operator offers poker, after Ontario. It was also the first operator to launch online poker in Ontario.
888’s opening tournament offering included turbo, Mystery Bounty and knockout events scheduled for Tuesday evening. Its advertised Sunday lineup includes a C$1 Sunday Micro PKO with a C$250 guarantee and a C$22 Mystery Bounty Main Event carrying a C$4,000 guarantee. The latter would need 200 entries to cover the guarantee, assuming full buy-ins and excluding fees or adjustments.
The operator had not announced Alberta-specific promotions or a dedicated launch-week tournament series at the time of publication. That is notable because 888 had previously indicated that Alberta participation would depend on licensing, technical readiness and the final rules for poker liquidity.
888 has now entered despite the segregated pool, but there is still no confirmation that Alberta and Ontario will be allowed to share poker liquidity. The Supreme Court has heard a case on whether Ontario and Alberta could resume sharing liquidity with international players, although a final decision could take months.
PokerStars also left Alberta on Oct. 13, as we reported separately, while GGPoker, BetMGM and PokerStars on FanDuel have been identified as possible future poker entrants. GGPoker had registered with Alberta regulators but had not stated its plans for a launch.
