The province and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) have amended their Gaming Framework Agreement, paving the way for a gaming centre pilot project on Flying Dust First Nation. Flying Dust Chief Tyson Bear said the gaming centre is part of a larger commercial development that includes a strip mall, hotel and conference centre. “We were building a hotel and some other things, and a gaming room was just an idea that we could maybe utilize to bring people, and attract them to the region,” Bear said. He says the 6,000-square-foot centre will have 49 gaming machines and be connected to the hotel by a breezeway. “I’m going to be probably breaking ground in about three weeks,” Bear added. Flying Dust First Nation neighbours Meadow Lake. Meadow Lake MLA Jeremy Harrison is also the minister responsible for Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan Corporation. He believes the project will “have a huge impact for Flying Dust First Nation, and I think the entirety of Northwest Saskatchewan.“ The province and FSIN have also agreed to extend the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority’s (SIGA) exclusivity over online gaming until September 2029. PlayNow, operated by SIGA, remains the province’s only legal online gaming platform. SIGA says online gaming generated about $30 million in revenue last year, with about $12 million in profit split between the First Nations Trust and the provincial government. ”When the First Nation people of these treaty territories succeed in the area of economic development, in the area of employment and revenue, the whole province succeeds,” FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said. For Flying Dust First Nation, the next step is construction, which Bear said is expected to take about six months.
