March 11, 2025
The results from Saskatchewan’s first full year of regulated online gambling were reported in the summer of 2024. According to the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA), the province's PlayNow.com platform—powered by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC)—saw $503 million in total wagers from April 2023 to March 2024, generating $19.1 million in gross gaming revenue over that period. But while SIGA lauds these numbers as a solid first step, we estimate that Saskatchewan is leaving more than twice this figure on the table by not joining forces with Ontario’s expansive iGaming model.
When PlayNow.com debuted in the province, its mission was clear: provide a safe, regulated gambling site for local players and redirect bettors away from the “grey market” operators that continue to serve Canadians without provincial oversight. SIGA’s $19.1 million in revenue exceeded initial projections. Its iGaming director, Michael Bellegarde, says the agency plans to “capture more market share from illegal operators” going forward, touting the platform’s responsible gambling tools and brand recognition.
This stubbornness is not exactly encouraging, not only in that it is factually incorrect (calling offshore sites "illegal"), but in that it lacks the desire for progress and innovation toward a real solution that acknowledges the facts on the ground. Tens of thousands of Saskatchewanians already have “grey market”, offshore accounts with operators that are live and licensed within the Ontario regime. As was done in Ontario, these accounts could be flipped from being “offshore” to “locally regulated,” yielding government revenues - almost like flipping a switch.
Saskatchewan could reap significantly higher returns if it were to “plug into” Ontario’s iGaming infrastructure—much like it has done with BCLC for PlayNow, but on a larger scale. Our recent assessment based on Ontario’s 2024 results suggests that Saskatchewan might have generated around $47 million in gaming revenue if it had partnered with iGaming Ontario, which assumes the same 20% revenue share that Ontario takes from the private operators. That figure more than doubles the $19.1 million Saskatchewan recorded in its own first year through PlayNow.com.
Ontario's success underscores how quickly a robust, multi-operator framework can grab market share from the “grey market,” which is often misnamed by local gaming authorities as the “illegal market.” Since its April 2022 launch, iGaming Ontario has brought some of the biggest, former offshore brands under a regulated umbrella. As a result, total gaming revenue in Ontario surged from $2.269 billion in 2023 to $3.003 billion in 2024 - a 32% jump—while repatriating hundreds of millions of dollars for government use, that would have previously been lost to “grey market” operations.
In one sense, Saskatchewan’s model mirrors Manitoba’s approach: rather than create a standalone website, both provinces utilize BCLC’s established technology for a co-branded version of PlayNow.com. This offers simplicity and a proven platform but is limited in its ability to displace entrenched offshore brands that appeal to Canadian players across provinces.
Ontario's approach, by contrast, opens the door to multiple private operators while centralizing regulation and revenue collection. By hosting numerous well-known online sportsbooks, poker rooms, and casinos within a single regulatory framework, revenues have dramatically boosted the province’s bottom line - and smaller provinces like Saskatchewan could stand to benefit from a similar tie-in.
For now, Saskatchewan officials appear pleased with the PlayNow deal. SIGA's first full fiscal year ended ahead of budget, and Bellegarde notes that having a robust local alternative is a critical first step in shifting consumer behavior away from offshore sites. Yet, our estimates show that this sentiment is really just trying to fight the tide. If Saskatchewan’s estimated potential $47 million revenue share from iGaming Ontario is around 20%, that means the overall gaming revenue occurring outside current SIGA jurisdiction is in the neighbourhood of $235 million per year. That's over twelve times the amount brought in by their PlayNow partnership - 12X! Is PlayNow.com going to counteract the legal marketing done by iGaming Ontario brands that also have “grey market” offshore sites that currently serve Saskatchewanians? We find claims toward this effort to be highly dubious.
At some point, pragmatism must surely triumph over stubbornness in order to maximize revenues and increase player protections through a proper array of legal Saskatchewan betting sites and online casinos. Will U.S. President Trump's tariff threats on Canada shock Saskatchewan's leaders out of their protectionist iGaming mindset? Will they finally come to the realization that they should be thinking: if you can’t beat the grey market, can we join a regulated market that has invited those same brands in, to share in the spoils, while offering heightened player protections? Ultimately, it remains to be seen whether Saskatchewan's leadership might explore a more expansive partnership with iGaming Ontario, but if they can “do a deal” with BCLC for PlayNow.com, why can’t they do the same with Ontario for far greater benefits?
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