About gaming in Alberta

How gaming works in Alberta

Alberta uses a charitable gaming model. This involves:

• charitable organizations – who are given licences to run casino and bingo events and sell raffle and pull tickets
• private casino operators – who own the casinos used by charities
• bingo associations – who run bingo halls on behalf of member charities
• horse racetrack operators – who run racing entertainment centres
• First Nations casino operators
• private businesses – who run lottery kiosks and vlt lounges
• volunteers – who serve at charitable casino events and bingo halls
• employees – who work for casino operators, bingo halls, lottery ticket centres, and vlt retailers

AGLC's role

• licensing and regulating charitable gaming
• issuing licences for gaming establishments like casinos, bingo halls and vlt sites
• registering people who work in the gaming industry
• inspecting establishments to check that games are being run properly
• auditing charities to check that they are using their gaming proceeds as planned
• informing people on how to play responsibly through the GameSense brand
• investigating criminal gaming activity
• owning and maintaining all slot machines, vlts, lottery terminals and electronic bingo

Where do proceeds go?

Proceeds from gaming are invested back to our communities. Charitable organizations deliver their services with proceeds from paper bingo, casino table games, raffles and pull tickets.