Saskatchewan Tribal Gaming

There are six tribal casinos in operation in Saskatchewan. The first of these opened in 1996 and the most recent – the Living Sky Casino – opened in 2008.

On 10 February 1995, the government made an agreement with the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) to pursue casino development. The FSIN created the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) to operate the casinos.

In June 2002, the Federation and SIGA signed the 2002 Casino Operating Agreement. Under the new agreement, SIGA is permitted to charge its losses from table games and ancillary operations as an expense of slot machine operations.

In January 2005, when a province-wide public smoking ban went into effect, the chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, Alphonse Bird, said it was unlikely that native bands would agree to enforce the ban. On 31 May 2009, regulations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act were passed prohibiting smoking in all indoor workplaces excluding aboriginal facilities.