New Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan Crown corporation now in effect

New Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan Crown corporation now in effect

Article content

As of June 1, a new Crown corporation — Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan (LGS) — has been established to oversee all casinos, VLTs, online gaming, and lotteries in the province.

Advertisement 2

Article content

Laura Ross, minister of parks, culture and sport, said the LGS wouldn’t really make a tangible difference for people accessing these services but this will allow for a cohesive and unified strategy as it relates to gaming.

Article content

“We combined Lotteries with Gaming,” said Ross. “In the past Lotteries was located within the Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport.”

Online gaming in particular motivated this change to consolidate and better regulate gaming and gambling within Saskatchewan. Ross made the point that PlayNow is the only legal online betting service in Saskatchewan as of right now, saying other betting services and books operating here are in a “grey” area of legality.

“Because of that, we want to ensure that people will consider and move toward PlayNow. Right now we have a lot of grey sites,” said Ross.

Article content

Advertisement 3

Article content

“It’s the only legal site,”  she said of PlayNow. “Gaming has changed a lot with the onset of online gaming here in Saskatchewan.”

The Crown came to be by way of Orders In Council from June 1.

“This is a new commercial Crown corporation that was created to oversee the gaming policy and management in the province,” she said.

One order states that Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation will be removed as “a designated subsidiary Crown Corporation” while the LGS will be added “as a designated subsidiary Crown Corporation.”

This will “replace Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation with Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan with respect to securities and categories of securities” according to the Order.

Ross said “it’s all coming together under this Crown.”

Advertisement 4

Article content

“SaskGaming will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lotteries and Gaming of Saskatchewan, of that Crown.”

In a press release from March when the legislation paving the way for the new Crown was announced Don Morgan, the minister responsible for all major Crowns, said the LGS “will allow us to keep pace with the rapidly changing gaming landscape while maintaining the unique character of having distinct operators in the province, including Sask. Lotteries, SaskGaming and SIGA.”

From that same March release the LGS will “lead gaming strategy and the Gaming Framework Agreement on behalf of the province.”

Regina is set to be the head office of the LGS, according to an Order, and the Crown will have a maximum debt limit set at $130 million.

alsalloum@postmedia.com

Article content

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Join the Conversation

Advertisement 1

#Lotteries #Gaming #Saskatchewan #Crown #corporation #effect

What’s your Reaction?
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0
TOP