Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission

Government agency of Alberta, Canada

The Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC) is an agency of the government of the Canadian province of Alberta, and regulates alcoholic beverages, recreational cannabis, and gaming related activities. References to cannabis were added to AGLC's name and governing legislation (without adding an extra "C" to the organization's long standing initials) as cannabis in Canada moved towards legalization in 2018. AGLC was created in 1996 as the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission by combining the responsibilities and operations of the Alberta Liquor Control Board (ALCB), Alberta Lotteries, the Alberta Gaming Commission, Alberta Lotteries and Gaming and the Gaming Control Branch. The current Chief Executive Officer as of 2020 is Kandice Machado. In 2023, the AGLC made $618.9 million in revenue from cannabis sales, $1.9 billion in sales from gaming (slots, VLTs, online gambling, bingo, lottery tickets, raffles, and pull tickets), and $850.4 million in revenue from alcohol and liquor. Combined with the AGLC's other income streams, in 2023 their net income was $2.42 billion, up from $2.09 billion in 2022. The Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Regulation; and
The Criminal Code. Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis also enforces certain aspects of the Tobacco Tax Act under a memorandum of understanding with Alberta Finance which administers the act, and licenses all racing entertainment centres located at racetracks under the authority of the Horse Racing Alberta Act. Alberta is currently the only Canadian province to have completely privatized its liquor retailing. All other provinces maintain government ownership and control over much of the liquor industry, especially with respect to distilled spirits. Alberta's privatization was carried out in late 1993 and early 1994 under the auspices of one of AGLC's predecessors, the ALCB. Effective October 2018, Alberta has a privatized cannabis retail model, while the Government of Alberta controls all online sales in the province.

The sale and distribution of beverage alcohol in Alberta had been conducted privately, under licence until 1916 when, during the height of Canada's Prohibition during the First World War, the Liberal government called a referendum in which Albertans voted in favour of the Liquor Act, which closed private liquor stores and the sale of alcohol beverage other than weak beer in privately owned bars. (Alcohol was still available from willing pharmacists.) Prohibition achieved the result that family savings doubled within a short time, and the use of mental asylums and prisons dropped. The policy of prohibition was affirmed in a 1920 referendum. Meanwhile, the Royal North West Mounted Police (RNWMP) passed over enforcement to the newly created Alberta Provincial Police (APP). However, there grew a hard core of bootleggers who used guns against police enforcing the lawresulting in the death of two policemen in Alberta (Osgoode and Lawson). The United Farmers government that replaced the Liberals in 1921 called a referendum to allow voters to show their determination to continue with prohibition, bring back the pre war wild times or establish government owned stores and allow increased sales through tightly regulated taverns. The referendum was conducted in November 1923 and Albertans chose a government controlled system. Responsibility for domestic beer warehousing was transferred to the Alberta Brewers' Agents Limited in 1973. The 1980s saw restrictions relaxed further, with the first wine stores licensed in 1985 The report was publicly released in March 2007.

Although Alberta has deregulated its retail liquor industry to a greater extent compared to any other province, its Connect Logistics–administered monopoly on the wholesaling of wine and distilled spirits is comparable to the systems which in the U. S. would be considered an alcoholic beverage control state. This means that by U. S. standards, Alberta would be defined as a "control" jurisdiction. When the U. S. abolished prohibition in 1933 the bordering U. S. state of Montana modelled its own liquor control board on the one in place in Alberta. Montana has made similar changes to Alberta over the years and its present liquor distribution system is still very similar to the present Albertan system. It is considered to be one of the 18 "control" states in the U. S.

In 2007–2008 disorderly conduct at and near licensed establishments was identified as a growing problem, particularly in the major cities. The province's economic boom and the resulting affluence of its youth were identified as the root cause of the increase in binge drinking. Some blamed inadequate restrictions on alcohol sales in establishments (compared to other provinces) as contributing to the problem. In July 2008, the Alberta government responded to complaints by police and other groups by introducing new regulations to restrict the sale of alcohol in restaurants and bars. Among other things, as of August 1, 2008:
Happy hours are still allowed, but they can no longer run past 8 p. m. Proserve covers symptoms of intoxication, liquor law, identifying minors, dealing with intoxicated people, and other issues that a licensed establishment may face. As of January 1, 2010, all people selling and serving liquor must be certified. On November 26, 2010, AGLC temporarily halted registration of beers with an alcohol content higher than 11.9% (while allowing current retail stocks to still be sold). The restriction was lifted three weeks later on December 16, once a new policy had been developed to deal with a potential influx of ultra high alcohol beers. The new policy equalized markup rates so that high alcohol beers were treated the same as other liquor products with similar alcohol levels. On February 6, 2018, Premier Rachel Notley ordered AGLC to cease importing wine from British Columbia, as an economic sanction against the province's decision to perform further environmental reviews over a proposed expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline.