Manitoba First Nations Move Ahead On Gambling

Manitoba’s First Nations has raised the clarion call against the provincial government over land-based and online gambling issues. The representatives of Manitoba’s tribes ended a two-day assembly by authorizing the drafting of a law that will assert their right to control gambling operations. Manitoba Grand Chief Derek Nepinak told the Winnipeg Free Press that this law will encompass “the full scope of gaming, games of chance, including electronic and online gaming”. In the online gambling arena the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) would be in direct competition with the province run online gambling web site, which is an extension of British Columbia’s PlayNow.com.

As far as land-based gambling is concerned the AMC had a deal with the New Democratic Party (NDP) entered into in 2005. AMC was allowed to develop five First Nations-owned casinos. Nepinak said that there was never any sense of fairness on the part of the NDP, which gave private, commercial and corporate interests greater access to preferred sites in urban centres. As a result only three casinos have actually opened to the public. A fourth casino is slated to be developed in the northern town of Thompson, now that the municipal government has withdrawn its earlier objections to the plan. In Manitoba, the Conservative Party came into power in April 2016, ending nearly 17 years of New Democratic Party control. Nepinak said the AMC was hoping for a better relationship with the Tory government. He expected that the Tories would recognize the First Nations’ inherent right to exercise control over gaming operations. But he added that the tribes would now be going forward with or without the new government’s collaboration.

Saskatchewan, which is just across the border from Manitoba, has reported quite a different gambling experience. The six land-based casinos operated by the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) are doing well. They have reported a net profit of C$86.3 million in the fiscal year that ended March 31, which is 2.6% higher than the previous year. But the online gambling experience has not been as good. In 2014, SIGA came close to signing a deal with the provincial government that would have allowed it to offer online casino gambling. But the deal did not go through. One of the Saskatchewan tribes, the White Bear First Nation, independently launched an online casino NorthernBearCasino.com. However, it had to close down in 2014. The reason reported was a very competitive marketplace.

Online Casino Articles

A listing of the newest online casino & gambling related articles that have been added to Canadian Casino Sites can be found featured in the listing below.