The Government of Saskatchewan has announced that SaskGaming reported a $19.1 million net income in 2021-22, boosted by increased revenues from the reopening of provincially operated casinos.
While casinos in the province had remained closed for the first quarter of 2021-22, the rest of the fiscal year saw more normalized operations.
“We netted $19.1 million which was an increase from 2020-21 where we realized a $13.4 million loss,” Shanna Schulhauser, spokesperson for SaskGaming, told CTV News. “So really nice to see us sort of heading in that right direction.”
The corporation reported a revenue of $77.8 million for the fiscal year – up from 30.9 million in 2020-21. Expenses also rose last year, at $58.7 million in 2021-22 compared to 44.3 million in 2020-21. Revenue from slot machines make up the bulk of money earned in 2021-22, followed by funds generated through table games, food and beverages.
“SaskGaming saw steady improvement in 2021-22, as we emerged from the era of pandemic-related restrictions,” Minister Responsible for SaskGaming Don Morgan said. “With nearly a full year of operations under its belt, SaskGaming was able to contribute $9.6 million to the province’s General Revenue Fund to support the First Nations Trust, Community Initiatives Fund and Clarence Campeau Development Fund.”
Provincially operated casinos in the province had been forced to close on two different occasions during the pandemic. Those periods were used to carry out renovations and add more technology to the casinos’ operations.
“We’re about 80 to 85 per cent complete right now,” Schulhauser said. “We’ll eventually move into the show lounge in the start of next year for a couple of months and then be heading over to Moose Jaw to make some renovations there.”
The next step is online gaming and sports betting.
SaskGaming signed a contract with the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) in June that will see the organizations provide regulated online gambling to Saskatchewan players.
BCLC’s PlayNow.com was selected as the vendor and will feature 400+ entertaining casino, Live Casino, poker, and sports-betting products. SIGA, a nonprofit which operates seven First Nations-owned casinos in Saskatchewan, will operate the platform in the province and development of the site will begin immediately with the goal of being operational by the end of 2022.