Saskatchewan’s provincial government has announced the creation of a new Crown corporation, Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan, to oversee gaming policies and management. The new entity is expected to eliminate conflicts of interest resulting from both licensing and regulatory bodies being under the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority’s jurisdiction.
Once established, the new Crown agency will manage all casinos, VLTs, online gaming, and lotteries in the province, as well as lead the gaming strategy and Gaming Framework Agreement on behalf of Saskatchewan.
The province’s Crown Investments Corporation Minister, Don Morgan, stated that the new entity would enable Saskatchewan to keep up with the rapidly expanding gaming landscape while maintaining its unique setting of distinct operators such as Sask. Lotteries, SaskGaming, and SIGA. Community organizations will continue to receive proceeds from gaming, as per the previous model. After the new legislation is passed into law, full conduct and management will commence on June 1, 2023.
It is also worth mentioning that SLGA’s area of responsibility was reduced when the province sold all of its remaining liquor stores, and in February 2023, the SLGA’s take was approximately CA$45 million. Nevertheless, the government still maintains control over liquor pricing through taxation and the wholesale business.