Alberta Gets Second Poker Room as PokerStars on FanDuel Goes Live

PokerStars on FanDuel went live in Alberta on Monday, November 2, becoming the province’s second regulated online poker room after 888. The site opened as a ring-fenced room: only players physically inside Alberta can sit down, and the lobby does not share traffic with the operator’s Ontario site.

The launch ends a three-week wait for former PokerStars regulars in the province. PokerStars closed its international service to Albertans on October 13, when the three-month transition into the regulated market ran out, and 888 went live that same day as the only legal poker option, Pokerheaven reported.

What changes for Alberta players

According to Pokerfuse’s report on the launch, the Alberta lobby carries cash games, tournaments and Spin & Go games from the first day. The comeback was first flagged in a notice to Albertans in late October, which promised software soon but left the timing open, so the gap from teaser to live tables turned out to be just ten days.

Nobody carries anything over from the old international client. What returning players need to know:

• Existing PokerStars accounts are not transferred to the new platform.
• Every player needs a fresh account and new desktop software or mobile apps.
• Anyone who already holds a FanDuel Casino account can log into the poker app with it, with no separate poker account.
• Play is restricted to players located in Alberta.

The brand already runs this setup in Ontario and in the regulated US markets of Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, so the software is familiar. The open question is depth: two rooms now split a province-only player base, and PokerStars has not yet detailed a launch tournament series to pull that base onto its tables.

GGPoker stays out of a one-province pool

The launch comes days after GGPoker confirmed it will not open an Alberta room. GG International Limited had registered with Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) by August, but the operator has dropped plans to pursue a full commercial license, Pokerfuse reported on October 29.

Scale is the sticking point. Pokerfuse estimates Alberta’s market at about a third of Ontario’s, and GGPoker told Poker Industry PRO that even a merged Alberta and Ontario pool would fall short of what a “sustainable, top-tier poker room” needs. In the same statement, GGPoker said that “shared international liquidity is the only proven model that simultaneously safeguards players, stimulates a competitive marketplace, and maximizes tax yield.”

Shared international liquidity is the only proven model that simultaneously safeguards players, stimulates a competitive marketplace, and maximizes tax yield.

GGPoker, statement to Poker Industry PRO

The operator added that it would “eagerly reconsider entering the market should a framework permitting international shared liquidity be adopted.” Until then, Alberta grinders pick between two ring-fenced lobbies. BetMGM has signaled interest in the province but has made no visible move toward a launch.

What happens next for Alberta liquidity

The nearest upgrade is a combined Alberta and Ontario network. Pokerfuse notes there is no legal obstacle to the two provinces pooling players, and the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC) has said it is “actively looking at shared liquidity pools within Canada,” although no agreement or start date has been announced.

The bigger prize is the global pool. Ontario has taken its international shared liquidity case to the Supreme Court of Canada, which heard arguments on October 7 with Alberta intervening, and the ruling is pending with no timeline. Until it arrives, Alberta’s online game lives inside the provincial fence, with the world’s largest poker room watching from outside.