When Sonco Gaming and their CEO Anthony Novac realized there was an opportunity to expand their gaming footprint in Alberta, they knew who to call.

In December, the Halifax-based real estate and casino development company united with five Nova Scotia-based First Nations to purchase the operating assets of Pure Canadian Gaming, a well-established casino operator that runs four properties in Alberta.

Together, Sonco and five Mi’kmaw First Nations formed Indigenous Gaming Partners (IGP). IGP will work together to operate the casinos, building on Pure’s existing infrastructure and Sonco’s expertise in Indigenous gaming to fulfill their mission to create meaningful economic opportunities for their communities.

To find out more about the motivations and mechanics behind the deal, Canadian Gaming Business spoke to Novac and IGP Chairman Michael Peters, who is also the CEO of Glooscap Ventures, the business arm of one of the First Nations involved.

“A really good fit for all of us”

Sonco has worked on numerous casino projects in Canada, beginning with what Novac describes as “arguably the country’s first-built Indigenous-owned casino” Great Blue Heron Casino in Ontario in the 1990s. Since then, the company has also developed the likes of Calgary’s Grey Eagle Resort & Casino and Casino New Brunswick, as well as being involved in projects overseas.

“I would say we’re probably best known for some of the groundbreaking work we’ve done with First Nations in the gaming space in Canada,” explains Novac. “Through mutual friends, we established a great relationship with Glooscap in particular. When we saw the Pure opportunity — because we know Alberta, we’ve operated there for 17 years — we brought it to Michael’s team and started to, with Michael’s leadership, build the group that turned into IGP.”

Novac and Peters both stressed they are inheriting a strong existing operation in Alberta’s robust gaming market. Peters says the opportunity represented a perfect fit for Glooscap and their fellow Nova Scotia First Nations, who were looking at gaming as a potential expansion route.

“They brought this opportunity to us and we jumped at it,” Peters agrees. “And after that, we brought in other communities. It was a really good fit for all of us.

“It’s a unique structure, we’ve got a few different partners working together all heading towards the same goal. I think it works out very well.”

Chance for diversification and revenue for First Nations

The Pure deal wasn’t the first notable instance of a First Nations group taking strides into the gaming space in the second half of 2024. Over on Vancouver Island, B.C.’s Snuneymuxw First Nation acquired Casino Nanaimo and Elements Casino Victoria from Great Canadian Entertainment, citing a desire to realize ambitions of casino ownership with a view to unlocking economic potential for its community.

Similarly, for Indigenous Gaming Partners, the Pure acquisition is a chance to diversify the First Nations operations both economically and geographically, as well as add valuable source revenue.

“We’re always looking at ways to diversify our revenues for our community, and to find ways to generate our own source revenue instead of relying on government funding,” Peters explains. “In Nova Scotia, we’re already involved in gaming on a small scale. Each of the five members of Indigenous Gaming Partners have a small amount of VLTs and gaming in the community, but we’re looking to really expand on that and diversify our revenue streams, not only in different industries but also geographically.”

Could these developments be a harbinger of things to come in the First Nations gaming landscape? Novac acknowledges that the industry can be an attractive proposition.

“First Nations from coast to coast are extremely well-positioned to enter into the gaming industry,” he suggests. “There’s interest, there’s access to capital, there’s expertise. We’ve been extremely impressed with all of our partners’ sophistication and ability to act almost as private-equity groups, looking to analyze opportunities.

“And I think these skills, as they develop across the country, make all opportunities including gaming potentially attractive.”

Future omnichannel opportunities in Alberta?

Alberta is a particularly interesting market for an ambitious group of Nova Scotia-based First Nations to enter with support from seasoned gaming experts. As things stand right now, this venture is land-based at existing casino sites in good locations near Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge.

But does the potential of the province launching a regulated online casino market add another dimension?

“It’s something we have in-house knowledge about in the Sonco and the Pure team, if the opportunities arise…” Novac notes. “Omnichannel is not currently regulated in Alberta. If the legislation comes in 2025, we’ll look at it at that time.

“We certainly we didn’t buy the asset on the hope that there would be internet gaming. We bought it based on the quality of what was there, but we’re very well-positioned to take advantage of omnichannel, should that opportunity arise.”

Peters agrees that for now, IGP’s focus is on land-based casino. But it’s clear that the group will constantly be monitoring what could lie ahead.

“We’re definitely in growth mode,” he concludes. “We’re going to be looking for other opportunities in this industry, not just in Alberta but across Canada.”