Saskatchewan’s Interest in Online Casino Taxation

Canada has been taking the world by storm recently when it comes to online gambling and British Columbia made history by offering the first online casino license to PlayNow.com. While that site may have had a rocky start, it still has the notoriety as being the very first North American place to get an online casino license issued. Other provinces in Canada don’t want to be left in their wake and they’re now starting to make plans that allow them to follow suit.

While BC initiated their plan first, Alberta and BC have begun serious discussions to try and impletement online gambling licensing in the province, but since, another province has entered the ranks looking to get started and that’s Saskatchewan. The province already has brick and mortar casinos, so they’re not unfamiliar to the world of gambling in the slightest, but online casinos would of course be new to them. They’re doing what they can to take precautions and ensure that they are fully prepared for the launch and licensing of their casinos since BC was so anxious to get going that there was a security breach following their launch . If Sasktechewan is next and launches their online casino successfully, they may become known for being the first licensed province to have a successful launch and that could be news making.

British Columbia may have started the biggest online gambling movement of the current generation when they announced they would be offering Internet gambling to their residents. Now, Canadian provinces are lining up to follow B.C. into the online gaming industry.

Alberta and Ontario officials have made comments in recent months suggesting that they are both willing to examine the possibility of online gambling regulations. The two provinces seem to be taking an if rather than when attitude towards online casinos.


Saskatchewan has now become the latest province to throw their name into the mix. The Saskatchewan government is moving slowly and ensuring that all precautions are taken before moving into the online gambling industry. Gaming Minister Ken Cheveldayoff believes it is time to keep Internet gaming revenue in the province rather than forcing local gamblers to spend their money overseas at international online casinos. Cheveldayoff estimates that $40 million is spent annually by Saskatchewan residents at offshore online gambling sites which means there is a lot of potential revenue leaving the province and at a time when already the economy has been suffering in Canada, any boost in economy helps!

The province of Saskatchewan has not yet provided a timeline as to when the intend to pass any new legislation or license online casinos, but as they race to be the next province, it’s likely to be sooner rather than later before online gambling licenses just become the norm in Canada.