First Saskatchewan online gambling site folds

Saskatchewan-based Northern Bear Casino suspended its operations this week, two years after its controversial launch.

Bernie Shepherd, a former chief of the Canadian White Bear tribe in the Saskatchewan province, launched the online casino in partnership with Geobet in November 2012 despite Provincial Government objections, Shepherd said at the time that he was “exercising his treaty rights as a First Nation operator, and that there are no obstacles to his doing so.”

Economic hardships have been put forward as an explanation for the closure, “the online gambling world is very competitive and costs are high”, a company statement said.

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