After two years, the Northern Bear online casino, which was owned and operated by First Nations. Northern Bear was Saskatchewan’s first online gambling website. The website was named after the affiliated, land-based Northern Bear Casino on the White Bear Nation in Saskatchewan. The site operated on the GEObet Tribal Gambling Network, which functioned under the auspices of the Wapi-Maskwa iGaming Act as their governing body.
CEO Bernie Shepherd, whose company GEObet Gambling Network, said the site is being shut down for economic reasons citing that the the online gambling world is “very competitive” and costs are high.
There has been backlash in the past regarding Northern Bear online casino, with the government denouncing it.
Through an agreement with the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) are allowed to operate live casinos which are located in North Battleford, Prince Albert, Yorkton, Swift Current, on the White Bear First Nation near Carlyle and on the Whitecap Dakota First Nation south of Saskatoon. Those casinos are operated through the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA).
