SIGA research identifies untapped igaming market in Saskatchewan

The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority has identified a significant untapped market for online gaming after research showed only six percent of the province's population has engaged with its igaming platform.

Environics Analytics vice president Sophie Marai presented the findings at a Global Gaming Expo panel on Tuesday, saying the data reveals "a lot of runway" for growth.

"What's the size of the prize?" Marai said, describing the research's goal.

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The study found that while 65 percent of Saskatchewan's online play goes to unregulated sites, only 63 percent of SIGA's existing customer base is engaged with its offerings.

Marai said the Canadian market is at a stalemate, with Millennials now outnumbering Boomers and Gen Z representing "a completely different gamer."

"Gen Z is a completely different gamer. They are completely agnostic online," Marai said, adding they lack brand loyalty and want "as frictionless a experience as possible."

SIGA director of marketing Kacey Pambrun said the authority knows its land-based casino customers well but could not assume digital overlap.

"We wanted something actionable" for branding and media buys, Pambrun said.

The research used SIGA and broader market data to understand existing customers and identify groups at risk of using unregulated sites.

Marai said 41 percent of those surveyed were already engaged core players, but opportunity lies in "those groups that you can't see today."

She cited the example of Canadian players who spend about $2,800 a year on gambling but have only a 5.2 percent SIGA penetration rate.

"They're not playing at SIGA, but they're spending in the market," Marai said.

The data showed players who over-indexed for both land-based and digital play were 46 percent captured by SIGA, while land-based-only players represented four percent of the customer base.

Marai said SIGA should concentrate media buys in the metro areas of Saskatoon and Regina to reach untapped players, especially younger demographics.

Saskatchewan has roughly 929,700 residents, a number projected to surpass one million in the next decade, and is seeing an influx of Filipinos, Southeast Asians and Black people.

Pambrun said the data's purpose was to guide "the next phase of our growth" and develop a digital strategy congruent with SIGA's seven brick-and-mortar casinos.

"There's a significant opportunity outside our established customer base," Pambrun said, adding that "acquisition can't simply mean spending more money."

She said the research is "not just telling you something interesting about your customer. It's changing what you already do."

Pambrun emphasized that one marketing message will not resonate across all segments, highlighting the need for open communication within SIGA's various branches.

When asked how to get Generation Z to transition from online to in-person play, Marai said operators should ask them about their activities outside igaming, their entertainment priorities and how they receive marketing messages.

Another questioner asked if the effort was worth it, to which Marai responded emphatically that it is, stating that understanding the challenge is necessary to make that decision.

"You can be leaving money on the table by not squeezing," Marai said.