About this app
What is Blue Wizard?
A fraudulent ad directing consumers to an unlicensed offshore operator highlights the exact issue Alberta sought to address by adopting an Ontario-style regulated iGaming model.
Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, has repeatedly emphasized that the primary objective of launching the province’s regulated market on July 13 was to offer consumers safe alternatives to illicit offshore sites operating out of jurisdictions like Malta and Curaçao.
“Standing still was not the responsible choice,” Nally said when the market launched. “Albertans were already gambling. What we’re putting in place is a regulated market that will put player safety and player responsibility first.”
How to play Blue Wizard
They have also been advised to thoroughly review their Know Your Customer, fraud detection protocols and contractual terms to reflect the guide’s recommendations.
They must also evaluate their current technical safeguards to ensure alignment with regulator expectations and certification standards.
Safeguarding has reappeared as a focal point for the regulator. In July of this year, ANJ imposed a €500,000 ($572,797) fine on an unnamed online betting operator, referred to as Company X, for not adequately identifying and supporting customers exhibiting signs of problematic gambling.
About Blue Wizard
The Commission’s intervention followed hot on the heels of the £600,000 regulatory settlement with QuinnBet, announced eight days earlier.
Its findings contained an all-too-familiar combination of ineffective systems, delayed interventions and inadequate source-of-funds controls. One customer placed approximately 4,800 bets in one day and 7,000 the next without being flagged. Another, whose payslips showed monthly earnings of about £2,000, deposited and lost £9,000 in four days.
“What is striking here is the level of activity that apparently failed to trigger effective intervention,” Williams says. “These were obvious indicators requiring further scrutiny, and it is difficult to understand why they did not result in more effective intervention.”
