Casinos under tribal control

Indigenous Gaming Partners (IGP) has announced the acquisition of PURE Canadian Gaming for an undisclosed sum. PURE was owned by ONCAP, the lower mid-market private equity arm of Onex Corporation, a Canadian investment management firm.

PURE operates four Canadian casinos: Pure Casino Yellowhead (Edmonton), Pure Casino Edmonton, Pure Casino Calgary, and Pure Casino Lethbridge.

gaming company jointly created by five Nova Scotia-based First Nations

IGP is a new gaming company jointly created by five Nova Scotia-based First Nations – Glooscap First Nation, Millbrook First Nation, Annapolis Valley First Nation, We’koqma’q L’nue’kati, and Paqtnkek Mi’kmaw Nation – in partnership with Sonco Gaming, Inc.

“Important step toward economic reconciliation”

“This acquisition allows us to enter the gaming industry at scale, creating new opportunities for growth and meaningful benefits for our communities,” said Michael Peters, Chairman of IGP and CEO of Glooscap Ventures, in Tuesday’s announcement. “We appreciate the trust of our partners and look forward to building on their expertise as we expand into this exciting sector.”

Sonco Gaming is involved with the ownership, operations, and/or development of a number of casinos in Canada, including Grey Eagle Resort & Casino (Tsuut’ina, AB), Casino New Brunswick (Moncton, NB), Great Blue Heron Casino (Scugog, ON), and River Cree Casino (Enoch, AB).

“This transaction represents an important step toward economic reconciliation and demonstrates the potential for meaningful partnerships in Indigenous gaming,” said Sonco Gaming CEO Anthony Novac.

Leaseback agreement with VICI mostly unchanged

With the sale of PURE Canadian Gaming to Indigenous Gaming Partners comes a minor rework of the master lease agreement PURE entered into with real estate investment trust VICI Properties when VICI bought the real estate assets of PURE’s four casinos in January 2023.

VICI paid PURE CA$271.9m (US$192.0 currently) for the real estate and then agreed to a 25-year leaseback term starting at CA$21.8m (US$15.4m) per year with rent escalations starting in year three. PURE had four five-year renewal options.

The lease agreement with an affiliate of IGP will remain largely the same with one amendment: VICI has received a five-year right of first offer on any future sale-leaseback deals.