Saskatchewan Extends SIGA's Online Gambling Exclusivity to 2029

^{The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority will remain the only licensed online gambling operator in the province for three more years, under an amended agreement with the provincial government. (Image: Robert Harding/Alamy)}

The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority will remain the only entity authorized to offer online gambling in the province until September 2029.

The Government of Saskatchewan and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations announced the extension on Aug. 31.

The two parties amended their Gaming Framework Agreement, which has governed First Nations gaming development in the province since 2002.

SIGA has run Saskatchewan's only licensed online gambling platform, PlayNow, since November 2022, using technology supplied by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation.

It also runs seven land based casinos in Saskatchewan, including Dakota Dunes Casino near Saskatoon, Gold Eagle Casino in North Battleford and Northern Lights Casino in Prince Albert,

What Alberta and Ontario Do Differently

Saskatchewan's single-operator model puts it at odds with its two biggest regulated neighbours.

Alberta opened its iGaming market to multiple private operators in July 2026, following an open licensing process through the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission.

Ontario has run a competitive, multi-operator iGaming market since April 2022, regulated by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and iGaming Ontario; the province counted 48 licensed operators as of July 2026.

Saskatchewan's arrangement functions closer to a single-operator lottery model: all profit is split between First Nations communities and the province's general revenue fund, rather than shared among competing private brands.

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A Profitable Exclusivity

SIGA is a non-profit operator, and its revenue-sharing structure sends 50% of PlayNow's profit to Saskatchewan First Nations and 50% to the province's general revenue fund.

“Our government has built a successful gaming industry in Saskatchewan in partnership with the FSIN through good-faith negotiation and incremental change,” Saskatchewan's Minister Responsible for Lotteries and Gaming, Jeremy Harrison, said.

“Through the GFA and its various amendments, the gaming sector provides significant First Nations employment and supports economic development on- and off-reserve, while funding education, housing and many other priorities,” Harrison said.

In its 2025-26 annual report, SIGA posted a fourth straight year of record profit: $418 million in gross gaming revenue and $167 million returned to the province.

PlayNow's net iGaming revenue climbed 38% year over year to $12.4 million, and the platform now counts more than 59,000 registered users.

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A New Gaming Centre on Flying Dust First Nation

Saskatchewan also announced a pilot project to build a gaming centre on Flying Dust First Nation, with up to 49 slot machines as part of a larger hotel and conference-centre development.

“We were building a hotel and some other things, and a gaming room was just an idea that we could maybe utilize to bring people, and attract them to the region,” Flying Dust First Nation Chief Tyson Bear told CTV News.

The extension locks in Saskatchewan's single-operator approach through 2029, even as Alberta and Ontario continue to court competing private brands into their markets.