PokerStars on FanDuel opened its regulated poker room in Alberta on Monday, November 2, three weeks after PokerStars shut its international site to players in the province. The new room deals only to players physically located in Alberta and does not share tables with its Ontario counterpart, Pokerfuse reported. The launch makes PokerStars on FanDuel the second operator, after 888, to run regulated poker rooms in both provinces.

The launch was also noted by Poker Industry PRO and Poker.org. It comes ten days after the operator told Alberta players, on October 23, that a regulated client was coming but gave no date, as we reported at the time.

What Alberta Players Get

According to Pokerfuse, the Alberta room offers cash games, tournaments and Spin & Go games. As in Ontario, old PokerStars accounts are not carried over. Players must open new accounts and download new software or mobile apps, although anyone who already holds a FanDuel Casino account can use those credentials to log in. Neither Pokerfuse nor Poker.org reported a launch tournament series or welcome promotion. Pokerfuse expects one, noting that the operator followed its Ontario relaunch with a tournament series.

The sequence has been compressed. Alberta’s three-month transition window for unlicensed sites closed on Tuesday, October 13. That day 888 opened the province’s first regulated poker room and PokerStars blocked Alberta players from its international site, as we reported. Less than three weeks later, Alberta has two licensed rooms, both run by companies that also operate in Ontario.

GGPoker Takes the Other Road

The market leader in Ontario has chosen differently. GGPoker has withdrawn its Alberta licence application, Pokerfuse reported on October 29, citing a statement the company gave to Poker Industry PRO. Poker Industry PRO had reported days earlier that parent company NSUS appeared to have withdrawn its registration.

In the statement, GGPoker said that even a combined Ontario-Alberta pool would not provide the scale needed for a “sustainable, top-tier poker room.” It described “shared international liquidity” as “the only proven model that simultaneously safeguards players, stimulates a competitive marketplace, and maximizes tax yield,” and said it would “eagerly reconsider entering the market” if a framework permitting international pooling were adopted. The position matches the warning from NSUS managing director Sarne Lightman earlier in October that ring-fenced poker in Canada has “no future,” as we reported.

The two strategies are now visible side by side. 888 and PokerStars on FanDuel are building provincial player bases now and betting that pools will be linked later. GGPoker is waiting for the international model it says is the only one that works.

Who Deals Poker Where

  • 888poker: Live in Ontario and, since October 13, in Alberta, with separate pools.
  • PokerStars on FanDuel: Live in Ontario and, since November 2, in Alberta, with separate pools.
  • GGPoker: Ontario’s largest room; Alberta application withdrawn.
  • BetMGM, partypoker, bwin: Ontario rooms; no Alberta poker launch announced.

The Pooling Question

Pokerfuse wrote that Ontario and Alberta are “actively working” on an agreement to share player pools and that there are no legal obstacles to one. Neither government has announced a deal, and talks on a memorandum of understanding were first reported in May, as covered in our earlier report. Pooling between provinces does not depend on the Supreme Court of Canada: the Criminal Code permits it where each province consents, Casino.com noted. The court is weighing a separate question, whether Ontario may let its players sit with players abroad. It reserved judgment after the October 7 hearing and has not said when it will rule.

If a two-province agreement is reached, 888 and PokerStars on FanDuel would be the only operators with rooms on both sides of the border ready to connect. Alberta has less than a third of Ontario’s population, so a combined pool would be larger than Ontario’s alone but still far smaller than the international networks GGPoker wants to rejoin.

What Changes in Ontario

Nothing for now. PokerStars on FanDuel Ontario, 888poker Ontario and the province’s other rooms continue to run Ontario-only tables for players physically located in the province. Our Alberta launch tracker follows each operator, and the shared liquidity timeline sets out the legal history.

Reporting draws on Pokerfuse (Ivan Potocki, November 2 and October 29, 2026), Poker Industry PRO, Poker.org, Casino.com and prior OntarioPoker.com coverage. GGPoker’s statement was given to Poker Industry PRO and is quoted as reported by Pokerfuse. OntarioPoker.com has not independently tested the Alberta room. The illustration is AI-generated for editorial purposes. Online poker in Ontario is limited to players aged 19 or over who are physically located in the province. Free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day from ConnexOntario at 1-866-531-2600.