Owner or operator
Casinos owned by Petroglyph
Petroglyph Development Group, owned by Snuneymuxw First Nation, owns four casinos in this guide, one of them with Musqueam Capital Corp. Nanaimo and Victoria passed to it on January 16, 2025, Coquitlam on May 5, 2026, and River Rock on June 16, 2026.
By the Ledger Desk · Checked October 7 and 8, 2026
Petroglyph in this guide
Four casinos, three closing dates
Petroglyph Development Group closed its purchase of Casino Nanaimo and Elements Casino Victoria from Great Canadian on January 16, 2025. The Nanaimo sale had been announced on June 24, 2024. Land associated with that casino was to be returned to Snuneymuxw on closing, as part of the Snuneymuxw xwsol'lexwel village. The Victoria sale was announced on September 10, 2024. For both casinos, Great Canadian was to provide transition services for up to two years.
Great Canadian Casino Vancouver in Coquitlam came next. Petroglyph took it over on May 5, 2026, after a sale first announced on December 19, 2025. The casino uses the Great Canadian name under a limited licence.
River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond has been owned since June 16, 2026, by a partnership of Petroglyph and Musqueam Capital Corp. The partners, Petroglyph for Snuneymuxw First Nation and Musqueam Capital Corp of the Musqueam Indian Band, bought it from Great Canadian Entertainment.
The record by year
2024
- Operator
- Great Canadian Entertainmentsince 2001
2025
- Operator
- Great Canadian Entertainmentsince 2001
- Sale agreed
- with Petroglyph Development GroupDecember 19, 2025
2026
- Owner and operator
- Petroglyph Development Groupsince May 5, 2026
- Closed
- Sale to Petroglyph Development GroupMay 5, 2026
In Petroglyph's own words
Petroglyph Development Group describes itself as the economic development arm of Snuneymuxw First Nation. It is wholly owned by the Nation, which is its sole shareholder. On where its earnings end up, the company puts it this way: "all profits go back to the Nation."
Its casinos on Vancouver Island are run through Lahal Casino Management LP. Petroglyph calls Lahal its casino management arm. In this guide, its Island casinos are Casino Nanaimo and Elements Casino Victoria. The company describes itself as Canada's largest Indigenous-owned hospitality and casino operator.
Those descriptions are Petroglyph's own, quoted as the company gives them. Its two mainland casinos, in Coquitlam and Richmond, appear on this page by owner and date only.
Around the four
First Nations in BC receive 7% of BCLC net income. The money runs through the BC First Nations Gaming Revenue Sharing Limited Partnership. Separately, two more casinos in this guide are under agreements of sale to First Nations.
Great Canadian agreed to sell the casino portion of Hastings, with its casino-related real property, to Tsleil-Waututh Nation. A definitive agreement followed on November 7, 2025. On March 9, 2026, Great Canadian agreed to sell Elements Casino Surrey to SE-MI-AH-MU Development Corporation of Semiahmoo First Nation. Both were subject to regulators and to the city: Vancouver for Hastings, Surrey for Elements.
Questions on the record
Who owns Petroglyph Development Group?
Snuneymuxw First Nation owns it. The Nation is its sole shareholder, and Petroglyph describes itself as the Nation's economic development arm. In its own words, "all profits go back to the Nation."
Does Petroglyph own River Rock Casino Resort on its own?
Petroglyph does not own it alone. Since June 16, 2026, River Rock has been owned by a partnership of Petroglyph Development Group and Musqueam Capital Corp of the Musqueam Indian Band. The partnership bought it from Great Canadian Entertainment.
What happened to the land at Casino Nanaimo?
When the sale was announced on June 24, 2024, land associated with the casino was to be returned to Snuneymuxw on closing. It was to become part of the Snuneymuxw xwsol'lexwel village. The sale closed on January 16, 2025.