Century Casinos Agrees to Sell Alberta's Century Mile, Century Downs

^{Century Casinos has agreed to sell the racing and gaming operations at two Alberta racinos for about $16.4 million as it narrows its focus to the U.S. (Image: Century Casinos)}

Century Casinos has agreed to sell the racing and gaming operations of Century Mile Racetrack and Casino in Edmonton and Century Downs Racetrack and Casino in Calgary.

The buyer is Highfield Investment Group, and the deal is worth approximately $16.4 million, or about C$23.2 million.

Century Casinos said the price represents a 6.1 multiple of the properties' 2025 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

The Colorado-based operator has previously ruled out entering Alberta's online casino market, and Monday's deal narrows its footprint in the province further still.

Company Points to a US Focus

Century Casinos co-chief executives Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger framed the sale as part of a broader strategic review.

"As part of our ongoing strategic review process, the sale of Century Mile and Century Downs racinos is an important step towards concentrating our resources on our U.S. properties, where we see the strongest opportunities for growth," the co-CEOs said in a statement.

They added that the transaction "improves our financial flexibility and operational efficiency" as the company focuses on its core U.S. assets.

Century Casinos said it will use the proceeds to reduce debt, and it expects the sale to cut its annual rent by roughly $7.5 million once the two properties come off its master lease with landlord VICI Properties.

Four Alberta Properties, Two Different Paths

Century Casinos owns and operates 11 land-based casinos across North America, and Alberta is currently home to more of them than any other jurisdiction, with four.

Those are Century Casino St. Albert, Century Casino and Hotel in Edmonton, and the two racinos included in Monday's sale.

The two commercial casinos, St. Albert and the Edmonton hotel property, are not part of the Highfield transaction.

Century Casinos sold the real estate underlying all four Alberta properties to VICI Properties in 2023 in a sale-leaseback arrangement, continuing to operate them under a lease.

The sale to Highfield is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approval.

A Retreat That Has Been Building for Months

Century Casinos' leaders have signalled for more than a year that a Canadian divestiture was possible.

In March 2025, Haitzmann said divesting the company's non-U.S. properties, including its Alberta land-based casinos and a controlling stake in Casinos Poland, was "an option under consideration."

On an Aug. 7 earnings call, Hoetzinger told analysts the company could sell all four Alberta properties together or split the racinos and commercial casinos into separate deals, and that he expected a public update on at least one package before year's end.

On that same call, Haitzmann said he saw no online casino opportunity for Century Casinos in Alberta, only a potential retail sportsbook tie-up.

With the racinos now sold, the future of the company's two remaining commercial casinos in the province remains an open question.