Steve Inglis – Alberta iGaming Corporation

Steve Inglis did not set out to become a lawyer. He briefly explored other public service paths, including policing, before almost casually applying to law school with a roommate. Law was not a lifelong ambition or a childhood dream. It was a pragmatic choice at a moment of uncertainty. Once he arrived at the University of Ottawa, however, the fit became clear. Legal analysis came naturally. The structure of the work suited his way of thinking, and his academic performance accelerated dramatically compared to his undergraduate years.

Steve Inglis | Alberta iGaming Corporation | General Counsel By the time he graduated, Inglis ranked second in GPA in a class of over 300 students. The result confirmed that what began as a backup plan had become a legitimate professional calling. He joined Goodmans LLP in Toronto, where he built a transactional foundation across mergers and acquisitions, financings, and emerging company work. The pace was demanding, but it sharpened his ability to prioritize, manage risk, and deliver under pressure.

What shaped him most at Goodmans was exposure to both the standards and professionalism of those who were part of the firm and industries still defining themselves. Inglis advised companies in Canada’s early cannabis market as legalization unfolded, supporting capital raises, mergers, and exits within an evolving regulatory framework.

“There was no better place to start my career,” Inglis says. “Goodmans first and foremost built my foundation on how to be a good lawyer, but more importantly, taught me what being a good leader, mentor and teammate looked like.”

Entering the iGaming Market Those experiences positioned Inglis well when Ontario launched its online sports betting and iGaming market in April 2022. He had long been interested in going in-house to be closer to business decision-making, and the market opening represented a rare chance to help build a business from the ground up.

In January 2023, he joined PointsBet Canada, which had operations spanning from Australia, the United States and most recently, Ontario. The Canadian business was built as a fully localized operation, with a Toronto-based executive team and staff.

As Head of Legal, Inglis was the sole lawyer for the Canadian operation. He sat on the executive team and reported directly to the CEO. His responsibilities spanned regulatory and licensing matters, commercial contracts, employment, immigration, litigation management, mergers and acquisitions, and oversight of external counsel for specialized matters.

“While being the sole legal resource has its challenges, it provides the opportunity to get involved in all aspects of the business,” Inglis says. “That level of exposure forces you to learn quickly and prioritize.”

Becoming an embedded operator Being the only lawyer required Inglis to move beyond traditional legal boundaries. To advise effectively, he needed to understand how the business actually operates. That meant learning the mechanics of sports betting, casino products, data feed agreements, platform integrations, and vendor relationships. It also meant working closely with international partners whose markets are more mature and whose operational practices offered a roadmap for growth.

“Being innately curious and not being afraid to ask the ‘stupid’ questions are essential to being both a good lawyer and evolving into a strategic asset to any business,” he says. “I’m thankful to the many experts at PointsBet and within the industry generally who took the time to field my questions and truly teach me the industry.”

That operational fluency changed how Inglis approached risk. Rather than framing legal as a barrier, he focused on helping teams achieve objectives in an industry heavily regulated. He rejected the “department of no” mindset and instead worked to become a collaborative partner across all areas of the business, including helping manage regulatory and commercial considerations tied to some of Canada’s most visible sports brands through a partnership with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. “You start to see venues, television and social media differently,” he says. “Every piece of real estate has value, and you understand how your legal work can often have a material impact on business success.”

Navigating Transition Inglis’ previous experience at Goodmans became immediately relevant at PointsBet, with the company selling off its United States operations early in his time there and, most recently, a subsequent transaction that resulted in the PointsBet business being sold to MIXI, a Japanese entertainment powerhouse.

“While navigating through the legal and regulatory aspects of these transactions was interesting and familiar due to my experience at Goodmans, it was equally as interesting to be part of the team operationalizing these changes internally, which is a side of mergers and acquisitions you don’t typically experience working in private practice.”

Preparation, Inglis believes, is the difference between reactive and successful deal execution. Strong governance, clean documentation, and internal readiness allow the business to move confidently when opportunities arise.

Joining the Alberta iGaming Corporation Online gaming within Canada is still in the first inning. While Ontario has had a successful rollout of its online gaming regime, the Alberta government recently passed legislation to adopt a model substantially similar to that of Ontario. Inglis recently joined the Alberta iGaming Corporation as General Counsel, the entity responsible for conducting and managing the online gaming regime in Alberta. For Inglis, the excitement lies in the opportunity to build a market from the ground up that is both economically vibrant and socially responsible.

“Instead of helping build a business, I’ve now transitioned to helping build an ecosystem that is both sustainable for operators and Albertans,” Inglis explains. “My focus, and the focus of the entire team in Alberta, is to ensure we have the appropriate protections in place to protect Albertans while creating a market that can thrive for years to come.”

Having stood on the front lines of the operator side, Inglis brings a unique and battle-tested perspective to the Alberta iGaming Corporation. His tenure in Ontario wasn’t just about compliance; it was a deep dive into the friction points, the operational hurdles and the real-world impact of regulatory frameworks on a burgeoning business. While Inglis is immensely grateful for the trailblazing Ontario model – which serves as a robust blueprint – his innate entrepreneurial spirit prevents him from simply copying and pasting. Instead, he is constantly asking, “In what ways can we make this better?” It is this drive to iterate and improve that ensures Alberta’s market will hopefully set a new standard for efficiency and player protection.

Outside the office, Inglis finds his greatest inspiration at home with his two young children, whose tireless “hows” and “whys” serve as a daily reminder that curiosity is a superpower. He believes that, as adults, we should learn from the innate drive of children to understand how the world works, carrying that same mindset into our professional lives.

“Our children are born with a natural, relentless curiosity about how and why the world works the way it does,” Inglis says. “I believe we should never outgrow that; if we can carry that same inquisitive spirit into our work, we stop being just observers and start being the people who actually build what’s next.”

Steve Inglis – Alberta iGaming Corporation

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