Snuneymuxw First Nation purchases second casino in step ‘to reinvest in our community’

Hundreds of people packed the auditorium at the Snuneymuxw Recreation and Wellness Centre on Tuesday, eager to celebrate what was billed as a “historic milestone” for Snuneymuxw First Nation. 

Snuneymuxw Chief Michael Wyse (Xum’silum) announced an agreement with Great Canadian Entertainment to purchase the Elements Casino Victoria for an undisclosed amount of money. This is the community’s second recent casino purchase, after an agreement to acquire Casino Nanaimo was announced in June. 

Wyse said owning a casino was a long-term goal for the First Nation and its immediate profitability would allow leadership to invest in housing, education, health care, employment and training. 

“We know all too well the impacts of colonialism and challenges regarding access to the economy to change the fate of our nation,” he said. “Often we are constrained with colonial financial structures, but this venture also allows us to reinvest in our community.” 

Terrance Doyle, president of Great Canadian Entertainment, told the crowd that the purchase of the two casinos will have a big impact on gaming in “B.C.”

“It puts Snuneymuxw as a significant player in the B.C. gaming industry with these two acquisitions,” he said. “And not only is it a great day for Snuneymuxw, as far as the acquisitions, I think it also really demonstrates what can happen when commercially minded people put their heads together.”

Solving the Snuneymuxw housing shortage

The expansion into the gaming industry is the latest move by Snuneymuxw’s economic development arm, Petroglyph Development Group (PDG), adding to a growing portfolio of investments in hospitality, recreation, forestry, cannabis, transportation and logistics.

“We all know too often that we require an aggressive action plan to increase Snuneymuxw access to housing so that our people have a place to call home,” Wyse told a crowd at the announcement on Sept. 10.

The nation has a goal to build 300 units of housing by 2028 and signed a memorandum of understanding with the province on housing in 2021. 

The same day the casino purchase was announced, BC Housing also announced that two rental housing projects for 59 units in Snuneymuxw were approved, part of a broader effort by the province to build 1,600 homes in Indigenous communities.

Doyle told reporters that the sale of the casino will now go through the regulatory steps before it is finalized in the next six months.  

The sale is financed through the First Nation Finance Authority. 

Wyse said that Snuneymuxw will be working with First Nations in the “Victoria” area and “absolutely” sees a formal partnership with them related to the casino in the future. 

Business partnerships grow First Nation’s prosperity 

After the announcement, Wyse told reporters that the purchase of the casinos will give the First Nation the financial foundation to be less reliant on government funding. 

“A lot of the time over the years, we’ve had to say, ‘no, we don’t have the budget to support that.’ Now we do. Now we will.”

According to Snuneymuxw’s audited financial statement for 2023 to 2024, the First Nation had an annual surplus of $21.1 million for its fiscal year ending on March 31 2024, up from almost $2.5 million in 2023. 

Snuneymuxw brought in $50.2 million in revenue, nearly $18 million more than projected in its budget, including $14.7 million in from government business partnerships, which had been projected to lose almost a million dollars. 

The other major sources of revenue for the First Nation were Indigenous Services Canada at almost $13.6 million, BC Housing at nearly $4.8 million and the First Nations Health Authority at $2.6 million. Revenue from First Nations Gaming Revenue Sharing almost doubled in 2024 at $952,586.

Social spending on education, health, daycare, social development and housing all saw increases, which totaled a combined $13.5 million in 2024, up $1.3 million from the previous year. 

While Wyse says the numbers for how much revenue the casino is expected to bring in is still “being worked out,” he said “it’s going to be a number that’s going to help tremendously right away.”