"Safe and reliable sportsbook for Alberta residents"
Jake Brannen, Bettingtop10 expert
Jake Brannen, Bettingtop10 expert
Play Alberta is only available to Alberta residents, and it is the only licenced sportsbook in the province. You will be hard pressed to find a safer betting site to deposit, store, and withdraw money with than one that is run by a government agency.
The website design is simple and easy to navigate, they have some solid promotions with no play through requirements, and they have an excellent customer service system with a 24/7 live chat and call center. Play Alberta also offers numerous player props and a dedicated mobile app which cannot be said for a lot of sports betting sites out there.
Their only downsides are not having a bet builder allowing you to place same game parlays, and having very few payment options. The sports betting market for top sports leagues is solid and numerous niche leagues are provided including an excellent selection of e-sports.
If you live in Alberta and you’re looking for a safe and easy to use sportsbook with solid features and betting options, then Play Alberta is the sportsbook for you. That being said, the website is far from perfect and there are numerous other offshore brands that you can access in Alberta that we recommend taking a look at.
My rating: 3.7/5
A note from BettingTop10 Canada: Our expert writers conduct in-depth research on each sportsbook to provide you with their professional, impartial opinion. However, when you click on certain links in the review and make a deposit, we may receive a commission (don't worry - this costs you nothing).
Play Alberta was launched in 2020 and introduced sports betting in 2021, only a few days after single game sports betting became legal in Canada. Playing with a sportsbook operated by the Canadian government is about as safe as it gets, and Play Alberta sportsbook has numerous other features to get excited about.
Their website has a simple layout that is easy to navigate, they just introduced a Play Alberta app, and they offer numerous player props for all of the top leagues in North America. They are partnered with multiple sports teams in Alberta such as the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, and the revenue generated goes directly to the government and back into the province.
If you’re interested in signing up, keep on reading our Play Alberta review as we breakdown everything you need to know.
Yes, Play Alberta sportsbook is legal to bet on in Canada. Anyone can make an account, but you must be located within Alberta in order to place a wager or deposit money. This is the only sportsbook licensed by the province, and it is operated by The Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis Commission (AGLC) which is a government agency.
Despite this being the only betting site licensed in Alberta, residents can still wager with other offshore brands without any risk of legal action being pursued against them.
Play Alberta has four new player offers available, but two are Casino related and one is lottery related. The sportsbook offer gives you the opportunity to claim four $50 free bets by depositing $20 or more. There are no playthrough requirements, so any profits you make from those four bets can be withdrawn right away.
T&Cs Apply
Betting features are what define a sportsbook. They improve user experience and oftentimes give you more chances to profit. Play Alberta is missing some key features that you will commonly find on other offshore brands such as live streaming, and bet builder, but here is a breakdown of the top features that they do have to offer.
One of the staple features in the betting industry, live betting allows you to place wagers as you are watching a game. Odds are updated by the minute, and new betting opportunities are constantly showing up. Play Alberta has a live tag for each sport to let you know which games are currently taking place.
Cash outs are one of the best features to have, giving you the ability to grab a small profit or cut your losses before your wager has even been determined. Play Alberta offers cash outs for most markets with clear cash out icons visible for eligible markets.
Over 40 different sports are covered on Play Alberta, with an excellent betting selection for the top sports leagues in Canada. There are numerous niche sports offered such as Aussie Rules and Darts, in addition to a large selection of E-sports to bet on. Here is a breakdown of the most popular sports covered on Play Alberta.
Football: Play Alberta features the NFL, CFL, and NCAAF under their top leagues, making it the sportsbooks most popular sport to bet on. The NFL will always be the most popular, but the CFL has some of the most dedicated fans in the country.
Baseball: The MLB is featured as one of the most popular leagues on Play Alberta, but it isn’t the only baseball league that you can bet on. You can also wager on the Nippon series in Japan, the KBO in Korea, the CPBL in Chinese Taipei, and the World Baseball Classic
Hockey: Hockey is Canada’s most popular sport, and the NHL is one of the top leagues to bet on at Play Alberta. The NHL isn’t the only league to bet on, you can also place wagers on leagues in Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland. You can also bet on hockey at the Olympics or the IIHF World Championship.
Basketball: The NBA will always be the top league to bet on in Canada when it comes to basketball, but you can also wager on NCAA basketball and the WNBA which has increased in popularity significantly over the past few years. If you’re looking to bet on leagues outside of North America, options are plentiful with multiple International leagues. You can bet on basketball in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, and Uruguay.
Soccer: Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, and one of the top sports to bet on through Play Alberta. There are multiple leagues in over 60 different countries to bet on, and multiple international leagues including the UEFA Champions league. The MLS is the most popular league in Canada with teams in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, and the Canadian Premier League is the highest level of soccer based only in Canada.
Tennis: Tennis is featured as one of the top leagues on Play Alberta with options to bet on the ATP, WTA, WTA 125K, and Challengers tours. You can place live bets with cashout options and matchup stats available.
Now that we have gone over the best sports to bet on at Play Alberta, let’s dive a bit deeper and look at the specific betting options. Here is a breakdown of the top betting markets and types of bets available.
Betting Markets:
Types of Bets Available:
Play Alberta just recently released a mobile app available for download on Apple and Android devices. The app has a similar look to the website, and you can scroll through all of the available sports and the top leagues at the top of the homepage. The homepage also features odds boosts to scroll through, and a selection of the most popular games to bet on. There are tabs at the bottom for sportsbook bonuses, live betting, and your current bets. You can also click on the top left for support or more information about the betting site.
Overall the Play Alberta app design is really solid. It functions quickly and it’s easy to navigate which is all that you can really ask for. I highly recommend downloading the app if you are using the site frequently, to allow you to access the sportsbook and place wagers on the go. This will significantly improve your overall sports betting experience.
Signing up for Play Alberta requires only four account registration steps. Follow our guide below in order to create an account, deposit money, and start placing wagers today!
The payment options at Play Alberta are one of the only downsides that the sportsbook has. Unfortunately, you can only deposit with Visa and Mastercard. The only option for withdrawing is bank transfer through a Canadian bank account.
If you are looking for a sportsbook with more payment methods, numerous offshore brands that Alberta residents can access offer a variety of different banking options including Apple Pay, Interac, and Crypto. Here is a breakdown of the banking methods for Play Alberta withdrawals and deposits.
Deposit Method | Processing Time | Min Deposit | Fee |
Visa | Instant | $5 | Free |
Mastercard | Instant | $5 | Free |
Withdrawal Method | Processing Time | Min Withdrawal | Fee |
Bank Transfer | 5-7 banking days | $10 | Free |
Play Alberta has an excellent customer service system, with a 24/7 live chat and call center as well as an email and an answered frequently asked questions section. Here is a summary chart of the methods available to you including how to get in touch.
Service | Details | Availability |
Live Chat | Instant responses on the website | 24/7 |
Call Center | 1-833-920-1447 | 24/7 |
support@playalberta.ca | Response times will vary | |
FAQ | Numerous commonly asked questions answered under the help section | 24/7 |
Anyone can sign up with Play Alberta but you must be located within the province in order to deposit money and place wagers.
You can only deposit money using Visa or Mastercard and you can only withdraw money using Bank Transfer.
Play Alberta has a 24/7 live chat and call center. You can also contact them by email but response times will vary.
Yes, Play Alberta just introduced a mobile app for Apple and Android devices.
Deposit $20 or more and receive four $50 free bets. Single Bets only and odds of 1.50 or higher. Each bet expires seven days after it is received, and you will receive the next $50 bet after seven days. There are no playthrough requirements so you can withdraw from your winnings immediately.
Yes, most betting markets have Cash Outs available on Play Alberta. Each one that does is clearly labeled with a cashout symbol.
Some markets will allow you to place Same Game Parlays on occasion but there is no bet builder feature which allows you to place them all the time.
Jake is a freelance journalist who has a passion for fantasy sports and betting. He specializes in Major League Baseball and is currently coaching senior men’s baseball in the Niagara region after playing competitively in Hamilton growing up. Jake aspired to work in Major League Baseball as a physiotherapist coming out of high school and was accepted to the Human Kinetics program at the University of Guelph. After completing two years of the program, he realized his true passion in life was writing and set his sights on creating baseball content for a major website.