Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan (LGS) Regulatory Authority Comes Online!

Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan is officially online! Is another Canadian province setting up provincial licensing similar to Ontario? (Photo by Jimmy Liao on Pexels)

Another province in Canada may be looking to mimic the success of the Ontario iGaming and sports betting market regulated under the Alcohol and Gaming Commission Ontario (AGCO).

From 1 June 2023, so 12 days ago, a new Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan (LGS) regulatory authority is now overseeing all online gambling activities and video lottery games.

This is a trending topic in Canada right now. Previously, Jack Bannon reported that there is the possibility of a Quebec online gambling regulatory authority in the wind. This news came via the recent Quebec Online Gambling Licensing report which covers the formation of the Quebec Online Gaming Coalition (QOGC).

This is a group of well-known brands – namely Flutter Entertainment Betway, Draftkings, Entain, Flutter, Bet99, Games Global, and Rush Street Interactive – looking to persuade the current monopoly held by Loto-Québec’s Mise-o-jeu to allow private companies to register as local online gambling businesses in the same way as they do in Ontario.

Now it seems that we have a less frantic version of Qubec’s push to bring in an Ontario-style iGaming and sports betting licensing authority in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

These moves across Canada’s provinces and territories are hardly surprising when you consider the tax dollars created by the AGCO licensing for Ontario, which would otherwise be lost to overseas gambling entertainment platforms.

Why would the Saskatchewan government overlook such a profitable market?

There are probably plenty of reasons why provinces and governments don’t want to look as if they approve of online gambling by regulating it. It is a touchy subject after all. However, if one thing is true of Canadians, they are going to gamble online anyway, so here’s the chance for the province of Saskatchewan to regulate it and add much-needed taxes to the provincial fiscal budget.

For now, the Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan (LGS) regulatory authority has not made much noise across the online gambling news grapevine. Certainly not as much as the introduction of the Ontario iGaming market. And that’s simply because this is just the beginning of something that could turn out to be that.

At this time, a platform called PlayNow operated under the laws of the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC)’s has long been the only online gambling site operating under the Saskatchewan province’s online gambling laws.

Aside from PlayNow s, most players opt to join a legit Canadian online casino operated overseas. These establishments offer a more diverse betting and iGaming experience with a far wider variety of games and they accept cryptos and/or Canadian Dollars. Save

Why Hasn’t There Been as Much Interest in Saskatchewan Versus the Quebec Market?

This comes down to simple population economics. There are currently around 1.2 million people living in the province versus 15 million in Ontario and 8.7 million in Quebec.

When comparing Ontario or Quebec to the success of US state-by-state online gambling markets like Pennsylvania (13+ million), Michigan (10+ million) and New Jersey (9+ million), it makes sense to push to bring regulations to the provinces.

Delaware, which although small, has a successful online casino market in the state, which has a population of around 1 million. Therefore, Saskatchewan could be looking at The Blue Hen State as a means of comparison.

What Difference Will Saskatchewan Live Casino Players Notice?

According to the provincial announcement, players will not notice any changes for the time being. This is a simple switch in regulatory governance.

Don Morgan, minister for crowns governing online gambling has said that by doing this, the Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan (LGS) should make it easier to regulate the ever-evolving gambling market in the future. It also means the regulation of lotteries is no longer under the control of the Ministry of Parks, Culture, and Sport.

The future? Don’t expect anything too soon. One issue with creating too many regulatory bodies too soon could mean a lack of software providers or operators willing to pay for new licensing. That would leave the market open to immediate failure. Slowly but surely is the best way forward.