Great Canadian Entertainment has agreed to sell Elements Casino Surrey in British Columbia to the Semiahmoo First Nation, its eighth sale of a B.C. casino to an Indigenous group in the last two years.
Semiahoo’s SE-MI-AH-MU Development Corporation has entered into a definitive agreement of purchase for the casino, which stands adjacent to the Fraser Downs racetrack. While Fraser Downs stopped running races last August, the casino remained open with 500 slot machines.
Great Canadian’s board of directors unanimously approved the transaction, but it remains subject to financial commitments and approval from authorities and the City of Surrey, which owns the casino’s real estate.
First Nations turn to gaming as part of their future
As it did for its other First Nations sales, Great Canadian will provide transition services to SE-MI-AH-MU for up to one year post-closing.
“Today’s announcement marks the eighth agreement we have executed with B.C.-based First Nations for the sale of our B.C. operations,” said Great Canadian Chief Executive Officer Matt Anfinson. “We are thrilled that the Semiahmoo First Nation is eager to enter the province’s casino sector with the purchase of Elements Casino Surrey. Our next step will be to continue to work with the SE-MI-AH-MU team to timely close this transaction and then work with SE-MI-AH-MU and the Elements Casino Surrey team members for long-term success.”
Semiahmoo First Nation is the home of the Semiahma people, who have lived along the shores of Semiahmoo Bay on what is now the border of B.C. and the U.S. state of Washington for thousands of years. Its traditional territories include parts of Surrey and White Rock, B.C., and northwestern sections of Washington.
The First Nation’s Chief Harley Chappell said that the acquisition marks a pivotal step in strengthening Semiahoo’s economic opportunity and self-determination.
“Through this new venture, we look forward to creating meaningful benefits for our people, supporting employment opportunities in the region, and contributing to the long-term well-being and prosperity of our community,” added Chief Chappell.
Great Canadian winding down BC operations
One of Canada’s largest brick-and-mortar gaming companies, Great Canadian operates a dozen casinos in Ontario as well as two in Nova Scotia and one in New Brunswick. At the start of 2024, it had nine B.C. casinos under its umbrella, but it has either already sold or agreed to sell eight of those.
The Vancouver Island-based Snuneymuxw First Nation has bought five Great Canadian properties: Casino Nanaimo, Elements Casino Victoria, Chances Maple Ridge, River Rock Casino Resort, and Great Canadian Casino Vancouver, agreeing to buy the last of those in December. That quintet of acquisitions will establish Snuneymuxw as Canada’s largest Indigenous-owned gaming operator by revenue.
To Chief Chappell’s point, Snuneymuxw’s Petroglyph Development Group’s CEO Ian Simpson told Canadian Gaming Business as far back as fall 2024 that he expected to see other First Nations follow Snuneymuxw’s lead by buying casinos to reclaim their traditional land and drive economic growth for their communities.
“Other nations in B.C. and even across Canada can follow that same path that we’ve gone down to acquire these gaming assets for the benefit of their own nations,” said Simpson 18 months ago. “I’m quite confident we’ll see that in the not-too-distant future.”
Since then, Great Canadian has also agreed to sell the casino operations and real estate at Hastings Racecourse & Casino to the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. Like Fraser Downs last summer, Hastings ended racing operations in December after more than 130 years, following the provincial government’s announcement that it was pulling funding for horse racetracks.
Great Canadian is also selling off Element Casino Chilliwack to the Ts’elxwéyeqw Tribe.
Will Great Canadian retain any BC presence?
Founded in B.C. more than 40 years ago, Great Canadian began its life as a casino operator in Vancouver and Richmond before expanding across B.C. and into other provinces to the east. But, five years after the then-publicly listed company was acquired by private equity firm Apollo Global Management in 2021, the Surrey sale will eliminate Great Canadian’s presence in the Metro Vancouver area.
Assuming all its outstanding deals close, the Chances Dawson Creek casino in the remote northeastern B.C. municipality on the border with Alberta will be Great Canadian’s only remaining property in the province.
If there are any plans for Great Canadian to sell the Dawson Creek location and end its operations in B.C. entirely, they have not been made public.
