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With just a few games left, the Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) online gambling website Play Alberta has had its biggest surge of activity since the site launched four years ago thanks to the Edmonton Oilers’ Stanley Cup run.
“This run with the NHL playoffs is the largest in terms of activity that we’ve ever seen for Play Alberta in sports,” said Dan Keene, vice-president of gaming with AGLC.
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Launched in 2020, Play Alberta is a provincially run online gambling website. It is the only regulated online gambling site offered to Albertans in the province. The site has become increasingly busy since the beginning of the Stanley Cup playoffs. With the finals underway, the site’s traffic is at an all-time high with an estimated nine per cent of Albertans using the betting site.
“That equates to over 300,000 Albertans that have signed up on Play Alberta,” Keene said.
During the playoffs, the site has offered several incentives to sweeten the pot for bettors.
The site offers odds boosts for every playoff game, meaning that a winning bet could earn more than a normal bet. Play Alberta is also offering same-game parlays with boosts, and even has giveaways for tickets and other prizes. The formula of incentives has meant more users than ever.
The increased activity isn’t a complete shock though. While the NFL’s Super Bowl attracts some attention, the NHL is always the most active sport on the site, Keene said.
“NHL is Number 1 for betting activity on the site. And we are seeing unprecedented betting activity going on right now,” Keene said.
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Bettors are showing strong support for the Oilers with more than 40 per cent of all futures bets placed on Edmonton. Futures bets are bets on the outcome of a multi-stage event, such as the FIFA World Cup, the NBA Finals or the Stanley Cup. Clearly, Albertans are feeling confident in the team.
As the playoffs roll on, the pull to vices can be strong, whether it’s excessive alcohol consumption or problem betting.
The Centre for Addictions and Mental Health in Toronto defines problem gambling on its website.
“Gambling becomes a problem when it affects a person’s daily activities, mental/physical health, reputation and relationships, and hurts their finance.”
While it is ultimately up to the gambler to keep their bets in check, Keene highlighted a few ways that Play Alberta tries to do its part in maintaining responsible gambling.
“We have things like bet loss and deposit limits,” Keene said.
“We have cool-off periods for players to take a break. And then, if you want, you can self-exclude on the website from six months up to three years. So there’s a lot of comprehensive and important responsible gambling tools on the site.”
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Keene said that gambling should be “a very small portion of your entertainment budget. It’s not meant to be more than that, and really needs to be taken in a responsible fashion.”
Some of the biggest bets for the playoffs have already been made. In fact, some were locked in many months ago at the beginning of the NHL season.
Keene said 66 bettors put bets down on the Oilers to win the playoffs during Edmonton’s slow start to the season. Although the team clawed its way out of the slump and into a strong season, the string of early poor performances tanked the odds for them to win for a brief period, and 66 bettors got in at 22:1 odds.
Although Keene couldn’t say how much the bets were for, at 22:1 odds even a $10 bet would yield a $220 purse if the Oilers win.
With two straight losses in Florida, Edmonton will once again be clawing its way back but this time for the ultimate prize. The Edmonton Oilers will make the more than 4,800-kilometre trip back to Edmonton for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Thursday.
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