Great Canadian Entertainment has agreed to sell a third B.C. casino to a First Nation in the space of a year.

The casino operator has entered a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with the Tsleil-Waututh Nation for a deal in principle which would see the First Nation acquire the Vancouver-area Hastings Racecourse & Casino. The deal only concerns the casino business at the site.

The agreement is subject to due diligence, finalization of financial terms and the execution of a definitive purchase and sale agreement, as well as customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Tsleil-Waututh Nation would acquire both the operational assets and the real estate assets; as the City of Vancouver owns the land on which the casino stands, its sign-off would also be needed.

Great Canadian’s lease as operator of the site began in 2004 and is set to expire next year. The company intends to provide transition services to the Tsleil-Waututh Nation for a period of time following the anticipated closing.

Great Canadian Entertainment EVP Chuck Keeling told Canadian Gaming Business that it will be “business as usual” for the company at the Hastings casino while work is done to complete the deal.

“We are excited about working with TWN on their potential acquisition of the casino operations and related real property interests at Hastings Racecourse & Casino,” said Great Canadian Entertainment CEO Matt Anfinson in a statement.”Recognizing that Hastings is part of the TWN’s traditional territory, we can think of no better entity to inherit this asset, and we look forward to supporting them in the transition after the anticipated close of the sale.”

Tsleil-Waututh Nation points to Snuneymuxw deals

The Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s residents are known as People of the Inlet and the community is a Coast Salish Nation whose territory centres around Burrard Inlet in Greater Vancouver.

The Nation is the second community of Coast Salish peoples to agree to acquire casino properties from Great Canadian Entertainment in the last 12 months.

In January, Snuneymuxw First Nation’s business arm, Petroglyph Development Group (PDG), closed the acquisitions of Casino Nanaimo and Elements Casino Victoria that were announced in 2024.

PDG’s CEO Ian Simpson told Canadian Gaming Business magazine late last year that the move represented a long-awaited step into casino ownership for Snuneymuxw, as well as an opportunity to unlock economic potential and pave the way for “transformative growth in Snuneymuxw’s economy and the profits that PDG returns to our Nation.”

Simpson said at the time that the deals could create a pathway for other First Nations to follow in their footsteps. Speaking on the Hastings deal, Tsleil-Waututh Nation Chief Jen Thomas cited the Snuneymuxw moves as an influence.

“We wanted to follow suit and just start taking care of our own people without government funding,” Thomas told CBC News. “I heard it’s going very well for them. They’re moving forward at a pretty good pace.”

In the statement announcing the Hastings agreement, Thomas said the step into gaming is “another important step towards economic self-determination for our Nation.”

“We believe that this opportunity is historic for us in many ways, and we look forward to entering the gaming industry in due course,” Thomas added.