Saskatchewan to debut its first iGaming and sports betting brand next month with PlayNow.com

Saskatchewan will see its first and only legal online gambling and sports betting site, PlayNow.com, become available to the public beginning November 3. The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) will be the official operator, as per an operating agreement with Crown corporation SaskGaming. 

The site has also partnered with the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders in a sponsorship agreement. The Riders featured the site’s logo on their jerseys at the home game against the Calgary Stampeders on October 22, along with other stadium activations, promoting the new online gaming and sports betting site. 

SIGA President and CEO Zane Hansen said: “We are excited to be the exclusive provider of Saskatchewan’s first and only legal online gaming site, which will provide a safe and secure option for residents to play their favorite casino games and bet on their favorite sports teams online.”

“You can bet on a single game if you’d like, so it really gets exciting and we really heard and seen how the betting public really enjoys that. It’ll meet all the regulatory standards, it'll be very fast and very secure, all of your data is protected, and your privacy is protected as well,” he added. 

https://t.co/mPABKO4cXW Jersey Patch which will be featured on the team's jerseys at the game tomorrow.https://t.co/mPABKO4cXW is now the official online casino & sportsbook partner for the Riders!#goridersgo #ridernation #playnow #onlinecasino #sportsbetting #sk #saskatchewan https://t.co/a2fHqVQtC2

— SIGA (@HomeSIGA) October 21, 2022

Hansen also assured that the proceeds of the site are reinvested back into the province. “Similar to existing brick-and-mortar casinos in the province, all net proceeds from the PlayNow.com site are reinvested back into Saskatchewan," he noted.

PlayNow.com in Saskatchewan is provided by BCLC and is based on British Columbia’s PlayNow.com business model, with many of the same casino and sports-betting products, supported by vendors and their strategic partnerships with BCLC. Saskatchewan will be the third province to use BCLC’s PlayNow.com platform.

Even though there are currently apps and sites taking bets in the region, Shanna Schulhauser, director of communications for SaskGaming, said these are “actually illegal”, SaskToday reported. 

“These sites are accessible in the province. However, because they are not regulated by the province, they are considered illegal. Currently, thousands of illegal online gaming sites are operating in jurisdictions across Canada. SaksGaming and the Government of Saskatchewan continue to monitor the potential impacts of these gray market sites on its legal and regulated online gaming channel,” she said. 

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) and the Province entered into an agreement in September 2021, which enabled SIGA to bring PlayNow.com to Saskatchewan. The agreement is the first of its kind in Canada and further strengthens the partnership between the FSIN and the Province in Saskatchewan’s gaming sector.