Pure Casino Entertainment Approved to Acquire Gamehost Casinos
Posted on: June 17, 2026, 04:09h.
Last updated on: June 17, 2026, 04:34h.
- Pure acquiring all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Gamehost for $13.65 in cash per share
- Pure Casino Entertainment expands portfolio of Alberta land-based casinos to seven
- First Nations looks at further expansion in gaming sector across Western Canada
Pure Casino Entertainment has been approved to purchase multi-casino operator Gamehost, expanding its portfolio of land-based casinos in Alberta to seven.
Pure Now Owns Seven Alberta Casinos
Pure is privately held by Indigenous Gaming Partners Inc. (IGP), a gaming partnership between five Nova Scotia First Nations and Sonco Gaming Inc.
The First Nations group already owns four land-based Alberta casinos via its takeover of Pure last year.
Gamehost and Pure announced their agreement March 30. Pure said it would be acquiring all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Gamehost for $13.65 in cash per share, through a subsidiary.
Deal Expected to Close End of Month
Gamehost’s shareholders approved the transaction on June 11, with approval also from the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta, reported first in Canadian Gaming Business. The deal is expected to close later this month.
The Gamehost casinos that Pure has acquired are the Great Northern Casino facility in Grand Prairie, the Rivers Casino and Entertainment Centre, located in Fort McMurray, and Deerfoot Inn & Casino in Calgary.
The company also acquired two hotels in the deal, both in Grand Prairie.
Rise of First Nation Casino Ownership
Pure will own Gamehost casino’s operating assets, while VICI Properties will own the real estate through a master lease agreement with Pure. Rivers Casino is already a leased property as the real estate is currently owned by a third party. VICI did not acquire the real estate of that asset as part of this transaction, but Pure did acquire the operations, said a spokesperson from VICI Properties.
The Gamehost news is the latest in a series of deals across Western Canada where First Nations are acquiring major casinos and gaming companies, highlighted as well by a series of casino deals in British Columbia, with Great Canadian Entertainment selling off properties to First Nations groups.
Key Economic Strategy
“First Nations are in the lead and need to be in the lead when it comes to ownership and partnerships and gaming,” said Chief Paul Rice, Council Chief of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake, during a panel discussion on the rise of First Nation ownership in Western Canada’s gaming sector at SBC Summit Canada in May. “I think that’s going to benefit everybody. Not just our people, but people in the region and the broader Canadian population as well.
“If you want to see the Canadian economy recover from a better part of 10 years of no growth, gaming is a huge part of that. Partnering with First Nations is a huge part of that. I think that’s a really key economic strategy that’s not being pushed as hard as it could be. We can be part of that as nations to push that as hard as it needs to be for the benefit of our people.”
Diversification of Casino Ownership
Michael Peters, Chief Executive Officer of Glooscap Ventures, the corporate and economic development arm of Glooscap First Nation in Nova Scotia, one of the five First Nations behind IGP, said during the panel discussion IGP will be expanding into online gaming in Alberta, with the new regulated market set to go live there on July 13.
“It makes us stronger when we’re together and we’re united in what we’re trying to do,” he said. “We’re trying to diversify our economic development, our resources, to make ourselves become more independent at home.
“One of those ways is becoming financially independent from the government. One way to do that is diversify not only by industry but by geography as well, so we started looking at other opportunities in gaming, not only Nova Scotia, but also across the country, and Alberta is a great market for that.”
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