Sign up for the larongeNOW newsletter
Members of the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority and the BCLC at the announcement of a new online sportsbook. (submitted photo/Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority)
PLAY NOW

A very successful first couple months for province’s only regulated gaming site

Jan 4, 2023 | 8:00 AM

Business has been booming since the province’s first-ever online regulated gambling site launched.

PlayNow.com officially launched on Nov. 3 by the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA).

Back in June, the authority partnered with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) to develop a new online gaming site.

So how popular has the site been since its opening?

“We have just over 8,000 people registered for the site in the first two months,” the Director of iGaming for SIGA, Mike Bellegarde said.

Bellegarde said in November, there was roughly $12 million in wagers placed and $18.2 million for December. Roughly 95 per cent of that is returned in prizing.

A wager is a casino term referring to any type of bet made by players.

With the success of the past couple of months, SIGA is looking forward to the future which includes partnerships with the Saskatchewan Rush and the Roughriders.

“The future opportunities are fantastic,” Bellegarde said. “This iGaming website has the potential to be one of our largest grossing casinos for the province. You see a lot of communities in the North and they are really actively engaging on the site.”

Another new feature coming soon will be the use of live dealers, which will add a more personal spin to the site.

“You can actually chat and interact with the dealer as you are playing so it brings a whole other level of interactivity to the experience and customers enjoy it,” Bellegarde said.

He said that as the only regulated website in the province, players can be assured their money and details will be safe, compared to other, larger websites.

“We’re not some obscure website where nobody knows where the head office is,” Bellegarde said. “It’s just important that the people of Saskatchewan know that this is where your money is safe.”

panews@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @princealbertnow

View Comments