Methodology

This page explains how we determine an operator's status on this site, how we plan to score operators once we have enough data, and how testing will work. No scores are published yet — see below.

How we determine registration status

Alberta requires anyone operating an iGaming site, or providing goods or services to one, to register with AGLC before it may accept Alberta players. A registered operator must also sign a commercial agreement with the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC) before it can take deposits or bets.

We use two independent public sources, both stored against every operator record:

• AiGC's "Registered iGaming Sites" directory — the Crown corporation's own list of brands it has signed. We use AiGC's own outbound link as the operator's evidenced Alberta website address. AiGC's directory does not itself publish registration status, registration date, or licence class for any entry.
• AGLC's Gaming Registrants export — the regulator's own list of registered legal entities, by registration class and expiry. This is our source of truth for AGLC registration itself. We only attach a legal entity to a consumer brand when that link is evidenced by the brand's own Alberta terms or footer — we never guess a brand-to-entity match.

An operator shown as "registered" on this site has AiGC's directory listing, an evidenced AGLC registration, or both. Where a brand is registered but not yet listed on AiGC's public directory, we say so explicitly rather than showing it as fully live. Every status change we record is dated and logged in our market change log.

How operators will be scored

We plan to score operators across dimensions we will publish before any score goes live, including: game and market coverage, payment method range and processing behaviour, identity and location verification, responsible-gambling tools actually available in an account, and app availability. No operator scores or rankings are published yet. We list registered operators alphabetically until enough independently verified data exists to score them fairly — see Alberta online casinos and Alberta sportsbooks.

How testing will work

Once scoring begins, each dimension will be labelled with how it was verified — documented, manually inspected, real-money tested, inferred, or not tested — exactly as described in our editorial policy. A "real-money tested" claim will mean an editor completed that action (for example, a deposit or a withdrawal) directly with the operator, using Alberta identity and location checks like any other player. We will not publish a score built on untested or inferred data alone.

Related: about us, editorial policy, how we make money.