SIGA proposal for casino in Lloydminster moving ahead
The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) proposal for a casino in Lloydminster, astride the Saskatchewan-Alberta border, is a little closer to reality.
Don McMorris, cabinet minister responsible for the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority, said Monday the SLGA has reviewed the consultations held by SIGA and will let the casino proposal keep going ahead.
“There are negotiations that have to happen between SLGA and SIGA for that casino to continue to move forward. But from the consultation and the feedback we had from the Lloydminster council, we’re suggesting that move forward.’’
The provincial government’s liquor and gaming authority gave conditional approval to the project on April 26.
If approved, it would be SIGA’s seventh casino in the province. Required for it was a community consultation plan, municipal approval from the City of Lloydminster and amendments to the Gaming Framework Agreement between SIGA and the government.
If all approvals arrive, SIGA hopes to open the 30,000-squarefoot facility in 2017.
It will employ an estimated 140 people and have 250 slot machines, eight gaming tables and a mid-range restaurant, SIGA’s website says.
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) created SIGA two decades ago to manage and operate on-reserve casinos in the province.
SIGA concedes tough times in the oilpatch around Lloydminster, but says it has started successful casinos in less-favourable circumstances, noting the casino would have 57,000 people within an hour’s drive, the largest unserved casino market in the province.
It is planned to be built in partnership with 12 First Nations from the area, with the Little Pine First Nation owning the land, located on the Saskatchewan side of the border, and leasing it to SIGA. Like a Crown corporation or government office, the casino would make payments in lieu of property taxes to the surrounding municipality.
SIGA estimates 60 per cent of customers would come from Alberta. No name has been chosen for the casino, the website says.
SIGA’s annual report, released in June, said it had earnings of $86.3 million on total revenue of $258.3 million, the latter about 60 per cent higher than the province’s own Saskatchewan Gaming Corp.
According to the provincial government, SIGA employs more than 1,800 people, 65 per cent of whom are First Nations. Other SIGA casinos are Dakota Dunes (south of Saskatoon), Gold Eagle (North Battleford), Northern Lights (Prince Albert), Living Sky (Swift Current), Painted Hand (Yorkton) and Bear Claw (Carlyle). A proposal for a casino in Estevan found little local support.
Profits from SIGA casinos are divided three ways: 50 per cent of net income goes to the First Nations Trust to support development, culture and other initiatives; 25 per cent goes into the provincial government’s general revenue fund and the other 25 per cent goes to community development corporations that support initiatives in the casinos’ communities.