IGP's Pure Canadian Gaming Buys Gamehost's Alberta Casinos

This article was last updated on June 24, 2026

Indigenous Gaming Partners (IGP) and its Pure Casino Entertainment business now officially owns seven Alberta brick-and-mortar casinos after its previously agreed acquisition of Gamehost Inc. was completed on June 24.

First announced on March 30, the First Nations group has acquired Alberta casino company Gamehost, which owned and operated:

Deerfoot Inn & Casino in Calgary
Great Northern Casino in Grande Prairie
Rivers Casino and Entertainment Centre in Fort McMurray
The Service Plus Inns & Suites and Encore Suites by Service Plus hotels in Grande Prairie

IGP already owned four land-based Alberta casinos via its takeover of Pure Casino Entertainment last year. Now, it has bought all of the above facilities by acquiring all outstanding shares of Gamehost for $13.65 in cash per share.

Gamehost’s shareholders approved the transaction on June 11 at a special meeting, and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta granted the final order authorizing the M&A deal a few days later.

IGP noted that the transaction, which “further entrenches Pure’s position as the largest casino operator in Alberta,” is also a rare instance of a First Nations-led group taking a publicly traded company private in Canada.

While Pure takes ownership of the Gamehost casinos’ operating assets, VICI Properties Inc. has bought the real estate through a separate sale-leaseback agreement, expanding that company’s Canadian presence.

VICI owns a large North American casino real estate portfolio including Caesars Palace, the Venetian and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and has owned the real estate assets of IGP’s Pure-branded casinos since January 2023.

Proceeds from the VICI real estate purchase amounted to $200.6m for IGP.

Pure readies Alberta iGaming brand

All told, IGP’s Pure Casino Entertainment now owns and operates a portfolio of seven casinos in Alberta at a time when the province is preparing to launch its commercial online gambling market. Online casino is expected to be a large proportion of Alberta’s iGaming by handle and revenue, similar to Ontario’s commercial online gambling market.

IGP wants a piece of the action.

The Indigenous gaming company, formed in 2024 as a partnership between five Nova Scotia-based First Nations and Sonco Gaming Inc., has applied through its Pure Casino Entertainment Ltd. Partnership operating entity to launch an online gambling arm.

Alberta’s iGaming market is set to open on July 13. As of the time of writing, Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis lists 46 registered operators, including provincial brick-and-mortar operators Pure and River Cree Resort and Casino.

“We want to see as many land-based operators in Alberta participating in the online space [as possible],” said Alberta’s minister responsible for iGaming, Dale Nally, at SBC Summit Canada 2026 in Toronto last month. “… We are certainly encouraging land-based operators to participate in the space, and we also want to see First Nations in Alberta participating in the online gaming space.”

Pure Casino Entertainment and River Cree iGaming will compete with a long list of big-name North American and European online gambling brands in Alberta’s open market, including the likes of: