Alberta's Riches: Oil, Gas, Booze & Gambling

by Bodog Casino | Sep 1 2010

| | |

We've said it before and we'll say it again, Canadians love three things: beer, hockey, and yes, gambling.

Because the United States has Las Vegas, Nevada, gamblers sleep on the love for gaming that you'll find across the country. Hell, they have a casino inside the West Edmonton Mall!
And it gets crazier. According to the Calgary Herald booze and gambling revenues in Alberta are actually worth more than gas royalties, a huge resource of their economy. There's a place that knows how to party.

Combined, gaming and booze are expected to generate about $2 billion in revenue for provincial coffers in the current 2010-11 budget year -- roughly $1.3 billion from gaming and lottery revenue, and nearly $700 million from liquor.

Royalties from conventional natural gas -- for years the province's primary source of energy income -- is forecast to hit only $1.9 billion this year.

Play Online Casino Games

Just four years ago they made $6 billion off of natural gas. That makes one wonder; can a Province survive with drinking and gambling as its primary resource? Some are a little worried.

"It's a reliable source (of revenue) and they depend on it. That's the worrisome thing," Robert Williams said, a co-coordinator with the Alberta Gaming Research Institute.

The good news is the Albertan government seems to know how to distribute all the cash. Booze dollars are dumped back into general revenue for spending, while gambling dollars -- cash from video lottery terminals, casino gaming and lottery tickets -- are sent to the Alberta Lottery Fund. The money is then distributed among hundreds of groups and agencies in the province.

It's starting to look like the combo of beer and blackjack will be the way the province makes money for some time. Conventional gas production is falling and there's growing shale gas activity south of the border, which has reduced American reliance on Canadian gas.

Next up is the online realm for Alberta. They'll be watching how British Columbia handles its foray into online gaming to see if they want to start their own site. Our suggestion? Save the headaches a new casino brings and stick with the Bodog Casino instead.