Is Play Alberta Legit? | 2022 Review

Is Play Alberta Safe?

Play Alberta is the only sportsbook in the province which is fully provincially regulated. This makes it safe in terms of knowing you won’t be scammed out of your money.

However, one of the most important things that make an online sportsbook safe is also the focus on responsible gambling.

The only part dedicated to responsible gambling we could find was about the self-exclusion process, which seems to be unnecessarily complicated on Play Alberta’s website.

We couldn’t find anything about the player’s right to set a wagering limit for himself (be it a daily, weekly, or monthly one).

The one thing on this topic we could read about was that Play Alberta can change your limits without notice.

Meanwhile, international sportsbooks which are available in Alberta, though not provincially regulated, have dedicated responsible gambling sections, and encourage bettors to set limits for themselves.

Sportsbooks such as Bet99 even make the process of lowering the limit instant, while it usually takes around 24 hours for an increase in limit to be approved, giving the bettor the chance to change their mind.

How Does Play Alberta Work?

Play Alberta has a very simple and clean interface. Sports are on the left hand side, while the betting slip (along with open and settled bets) can be accessed on the right.

On the left, below sports, you can easily switch the odds display to American, Fractional, or Decimal.

How to Sign up to Play Alberta

Signing up to Play Alberta is a simple process.

• First, you’ll need to provide your email and password.

• Then, enter your personal information. Play Alberta also requires to know your employer’s name, which we haven’t seen on any other sportsbooks.

• Play Alberta will then verify your details on the spot, and once they’re verified, you’ll be expected to present an additional proof of identity.

Play Alberta Sports Betting

• Covers All Major Sports

• Cash Out Available

• Very Few Sports

• No Live Streaming

• Not Many Prop Bets

Play Alberta lets you bet on all major Canadian favourites like hockey, football, basketball, and soccer.

However, the major sports are pretty much all there is to it, as Play Alberta has only 8 sports available.

Options like cricket, eSports, curling, or lacrosse, available at plenty of international sportsbooks, don’t exist on Play Alberta.

Betting Markets

Play Alberta tends to offer all of the major betting markets available elsewhere, such as moneyline, three-way bets, and over/under bets.

However, it doesn’t really offer prop bets, which are some of seasoned bettors’ favourite ones.

Betting Tools

At Play Alberta, bettors can cash out on select markets. There is also the live betting option.

Sadly, there is no live streaming available, which virtually all international sportsbooks in Canada offer. For example, bet365 offers HD live streaming, along with exclusive low-latency NFL live streams.

Play Alberta can hardly compete with that.

Odds

One of the most important things bettors will want to know when choosing an online sportsbook is whether it offers competitive odds.

To test it out, we looked into the odds for the FIFA World Cup finale:

Play Alberta has competitive odds only for the draw option. It’s outdone by both Bet99 and Betano for odds on both teams.

Play Alberta Casino

Though Play Alberta has a wide variety of casino games, such as:

• slots
• poker
• video poker
• baccarat
• blackjack
• roulette

And even a lottery section, with fewer than 200 casino games, it can’t compare to websites such as Bet99 or LeoVegas, which have well over 1500.

And while there’s also a live dealer section at Play Alberta, there are only 6 games to choose from.

Is There a Play Alberta App?

• Decent Mobile Experience

• No Downloadable App

Unfortunately, Albertans cannot bet at Play Alberta via an app. The sportsbook and casino still doesn’t have a downloadable app, although we’ve found the mobile experience to be decent.

Meanwhile, international operators usually offer great betting apps available to Albertans.

Payment Methods

Currently, Play Alberta takes deposits via debit/credit cards and Interac.

However, bettors can only withdraw money using a bank transfer. The expected withdrawal time at Play Alberta is 3-5 business days.

How to Withdraw Money From Play Alberta

Withdrawing your money is a simple process, that somewhat differs depending on whether you’re accessing your account from desktop or mobile.

The only minor difference is how you’re going to find the Account menu.

Once you sign in and access your account menu, the following process is the same regardless of the device being used:

1. Click on “Withdraw Funds”
2. Select EFT — Bank Transfer
3. Enter the amount you wish to withdraw and provide additional information needed
4. For first-time withdrawals, you may be requested to provide additional documents

Customer Support

Play Alberta has a decent FAQ section, so we recommend checking it out if you encounter any issues.

If you don’t find the answer there, the customer support can be contacted via live chat, phone, or through a contact form.

Play Alberta Alternatives

As we already mentioned in our Alberta sports betting article, Play Alberta isn’t the only option bettors from this province have.

Another interprovincially regulated option is Sport Select, run by the Western Canada Lottery Corporation.

The issue here is that, in order to complete their online bet, Albertans need to go to a physical Sport Select location, which defeats the purpose of online betting.

There are also international sportsbooks that accept bettors from Alberta. They aren’t illegal in the province, so you can freely place your bets there.

However, they’re not all equal. The sportsbooks we recommend all have an iGO license, which makes them legal in Ontario and a safe alternative to provincially regulated sportsbooks elsewhere in Canada.