Alberta’s government makes as much revenue from ‘vice’ as from oil

Steven Stradbrooke
August 28, 2010
2 Comments

Alberta-Vice-Oil-Revenue There’s no question that Canadians like to gamble, especially those living in the prairie provinces. Because of its vast oil sands deposits, Alberta is often referred to as Saudi Arabia North. Perhaps Las Vegas North would be more appropriate, given that the provincial government reaps just as much annual revenue ($1.9B) from the so-called vices of gambling and liquor as it does from conventional oil production. And this is without a provincial online gaming offering, an issue on which the province is still teetering on the fence. Is it possible that in a couple decades, Albertans will have traded in their hardhats and Stetsons for croupier visors? Read more.