New Delhi, July 2 -- On July 13, Alberta residents can open their phone, download any of 28 different gambling apps, and place a legal bet. For the first time.

not one provincial operator with a monopoly, not a pilot program with a handful of licensed brands, but twenty-eight operators competing simultaneously on day one. Ontario, the only other Canadian province to have tried this, took four years to reach forty-five. Alberta is starting with more than half that count at the opening bell.

The Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission confirmed July 13 as the official launch date for the province's regulated iGaming market, making Alberta the second province in Canada to license private-sector sportsbook and online casino operators...