Members of the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority and the BCLC at the announcment of a new online sportsbook. (Submitted Photo/Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority)

By Logan Lehmann

Sports Betting

Sask’s first online sportsbook set to launch in time for Grey Cup

Oct 21, 2022 | 8:00 AM

Saskatchewan’s first official online sportsbook is on the way and it is set to go online just in time for the 109^th Grey Cup in Regina.

November 3 is the date slated for the new sportsbook and according to a release by the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) back in June, they partnered with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) to develop the new Online Gaming site.

In the release, they stated that the reason they chose BCLC over the others is because of the “PlayNow platform’” they offer. PlayNow is the only regulated gambling website offered in BC and Manitoba and offers a secure playing experience for entertaining casinos, Live Casinos, poker, and sports betting.

“BCLC’s PlayNow.com platform will be customized for the Saskatchewan market,” the release states. “(it) will reflect many of the popular casino games that Saskatchewan residents are accustomed to seeing at casinos, as well as single-event sports betting.”

The new site will also feature GameSense, which gives players information on how different forms of gambling work along with a few basic principles, so they have the knowledge they need to make informed decisions.

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“Offering a safe and secure online gambling experience that supports positive play, PlayNow.com is the only gambling website in North America and one of few in the world that offers dedicated player-health specialists – known as GameSense Advisors – via live chat,” BCLC President and CEO Lynda Cavanaugh said in the release.

The only drawback with a new sportsbook like this is that these already exist elsewhere, meaning that Saskatchewan residents have access to offshore sites and other illegal sports betting operations, otherwise known as the “grey market.”

The grey market has existed in Canada since gambling was first introduced and Canadians spend approximately $10 billion on these sites annually. Aside from the illegal options of sports betting, offshore options like BetRivers and Bet99 have a faithful following from Saskatchewan, meaning that SIGA will have to work to get residents to become users of the new sportsbook.

In addition to the grey market, SIGA will have to compete with SportSelect, a group of sports betting games offered by Canada’s lottery corporations.

Some plans that SIGA has to attract people are to regularly offer bonus promotions as well as make the sign-up process as easy as possible for new users, which includes training employees and equipping them with the proper skills to help new users on the site.

SIGA also said that its online sports betting site via PlayNow.com will offer specialized event wagers which aren’t available through SportSelect, such as for the Oscars and U.S. elections.

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logan.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @lloganlehmann