Saskatchewan Extends SIGA's Online Gaming Exclusivity to September 2029

The province and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations have amended their Gaming Framework Agreement to keep the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority's PlayNow.com as the only legal online operator for another three years, add 49 slot machines to SIGA's allocation and approve a First Nations gaming centre pilot at Flying Dust First Nation.

• SIGA's exclusive right to operate Saskatchewan's regulated online gaming market now runs to September 2029, under an amendment to the Gaming Framework Agreement announced by the province and the FSIN, according to Casino.org
• PlayNow.com, launched in 2022, took $804 million in wagers and $31.59 million in gross gaming revenue in the 2025-26 fiscal year, with more than 59,000 sign-ups, per SIGA's annual report
• The amendment adds 49 slot machines to SIGA's allocation, taking it to 2,619, and approves a gaming centre pilot of up to 49 machines on Flying Dust First Nation near Meadow Lake
• Jeremy Harrison, the minister responsible for Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan, said the industry had been built "through good-faith negotiation and incremental change"
• FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said the First Nations' share of gaming profits would be distributed among First Nations across Treaty 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 territories

Three More Years for a Single-Operator Model

Saskatchewan has extended the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority's exclusive right to operate the province's regulated online gaming market until September 2029, Casino.org reported on Friday, citing the announcement by the provincial government and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations. The FSIN represents the province's 74 First Nations, and the extension comes through an amendment to the Gaming Framework Agreement between the two.

"Our government has built a successful gaming industry in Saskatchewan in partnership with the FSIN through good-faith negotiation and incremental change," said Jeremy Harrison, the minister responsible for Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan.

SIGA's online business is PlayNow.com, which it operates under licence from the British Columbia Lottery Corporation's platform and which is the only legal iGaming site in the province. In its annual report for the 2025-26 fiscal year, published in June, SIGA reported total wagers of $804 million on PlayNow.com and gross gaming revenue of $31.59 million, with more than 59,000 sign-ups since the site launched in 2022.

A Pilot Casino on a First Nation, and 49 More Machines

The amendment also approves a First Nations gaming centre pilot of up to 49 slot machines on Flying Dust First Nation, part of a larger development including a strip mall, hotel and conference centre. "The project will be an important part of a new hotel development that will better serve the people of Meadow Lake and northwest Saskatchewan," said FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron. "Importantly, the benefits of this growth will extend beyond the host community, with the First Nations' share of gaming profits distributed equitably among Saskatchewan First Nations throughout Treaty 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 territories."

SIGA's slot machine allocation rises by 49 to 2,619. The authority, created by the province's First Nations and launched in 1996, operates seven casinos offering slots, live and electronic table games, entertainment and dining. Canada's provincial gaming landscape is on the iGaming Times country page.

Saskatchewan Has Chosen the Opposite of Ontario, and the Numbers Explain Why

Ontario opened its market to private operators in 2022 and now reports monthly online revenue in the hundreds of millions; Saskatchewan's single site made $31.59 million in a year. The gap is partly population and partly model, and Saskatchewan's choice is deliberate. The province's gaming industry is a revenue-sharing partnership with First Nations, and an open market would dilute that partnership's share. Extending exclusivity to 2029 is a statement that the partnership matters more than the market size, at least for now.

The Grey Market Is the Unpriced Cost of Exclusivity

A single legal site with $804 million in wagers exists alongside offshore operators that serve Saskatchewan residents without a licence and without a revenue share. British Columbia said last week that prediction markets are illegal gambling in its province; Saskatchewan's regulator faces the same platforms and the same offshore books with fewer tools. Three more years of exclusivity is three more years in which channelisation depends on enforcement rather than competition.

The Pilot Is Small and the Precedent Is Not

Forty-nine machines in a hotel at Meadow Lake is not a casino, but a gaming centre on a First Nation outside SIGA's seven properties is a new category in the province's framework. If it works, the model of First Nations hosting small gaming venues attached to hospitality developments is one other provinces will study. The FSIN's insistence that the profit share reaches every treaty territory is what makes the precedent politically durable.

Saskatchewan has renewed a model built on partnership rather than competition. The 2029 date is when it will have to decide whether the partnership can afford to stay closed.