​Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.You’ve come a long way, Alberta.On Monday, the Western Canadian province launched its competitive market for online sports betting and internet casino gambling, becoming the second jurisdiction in Canada to roll out that kind of regulatory framework after Ontario did so in 2022.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNow Albertans have multiple options for provincially regulated online gambling. Previously, they had just one, the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission’s (AGLC) Play Alberta.Monday’s launch will make Alberta another key jurisdiction for the online gambling industry. Billions will be bet, and billions in revenue are expected to be generated from that wagering.However, the road to July 13 and the new Alberta sports betting market was long. It wasn’t all that straight, either, with plenty of twists and turns along the way.Here, then, is the history of how Alberta sparked Canada’s second legalized sports betting boom.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMay 14, 2018 – A majority of judges on the U.S. Supreme Court strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), the law that had confined legalized sports betting to a few states, most notably Nevada. This leads to the spread of legalized sports betting in the U.S. and partnerships between professional sports leagues and sportsbook operators.April 11, 2019 – The Ontario government releases its annual budget. The document says the province “intends to establish a competitive market for online legal gambling that will reflect consumer choice while protecting consumers who play on these websites.” In other words, a Canadian province is interested in injecting some private-sector competition into its regulated iGaming sector.Sept. 23, 2020 – Bill C-218, the proposed Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act, is reinstated in the federal House of Commons from a previous session. Conservative MP Kevin Waugh’s private member’s legislation proposes to decriminalize single-game sports betting in Canada, which has forbidden that type of wagering for decades. It’s not the first time such a measure has been proposed in Parliament, but this time, the opposition from professional sports leagues post-PASPA isn’t there.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSept. 30, 2020 – The AGLC’s online gambling platform, Play Alberta, launches. It initially offers only casino games but is the only provincially regulated site in Alberta.June 22, 2021 – C-218 passes third reading in the Senate. It receives Royal Assent a week later, and Justice Minister David Lametti eventually announces its provisions will take effect Aug. 27. Canada’s provinces are now free to “conduct and manage” sports betting that includes single-game wagering.July 6, 2021 – The Ontario government announces a new subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, called iGaming Ontario (iGO). The ag