Saskatchewan First Nations Interested in Online Gambling

Friday August 31,2012 :  SASKATCHEWAN FIRST NATIONS INTERESTED IN ONLINE GAMBLING
 
GEObet "exploring opportunities to develop an online gambling solution” for tribe.
 
The GEObet Gambling Network announced Thursday that it is currently exploring opportunities with Saskatchewan First Nations to develop an online gaming solution that will extend the reach of the Saskatchewan First Nation Gaming network operating in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
 
GEObet has made several presentations, including to the recent Special Indian Gaming Assembly in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. All parties are confident that agreements will meet and exceed Saskatchewan First Nations’ expectations of i-gaming.
 
“We are exploring online opportunities in order to create revenue for our communities and provide business and employment opportunities for our members. We are doing this by exercising our Inherent and Constitutional rights” said Bernie Shepherd, the former Chief of the White Bear First Nation and the driving force behind the first Indian owned land-based casino (1993) in Canada.
 
First Nations casinos in Saskatchewan entertain more than 4 million guests annually.
 
“First Nation casinos can’t afford to lose their many land-based casino customers to offshore online casino operators,” said GEObet CEO Gerry Gionet. “So we’ve developed a turnkey i-gaming solution that will enable Saskatchewan First Nations to get up and running online as quickly and smoothly as possible.”
 
Commenting on the recent developments in the U.S., Shepherd said: “The draft i-gaming bill [prepared by the Senate Committee for Indian Affairs] is a positive and unified step on behalf of our southern relatives who are on the path of self-governance and self-sustainability.
 
"The success of the regional tribal casinos and their professional operations has led to this commonsense approach and is the right approach to extending First Nation gaming businesses into the online world with the same rights and freedoms that other industries enjoy."