Online auctions for retail liquor store permits are set to begin in Saskatchewan on Nov. 27.
Bids are to close Dec. 6 in the first round of auctions, which is to include the communities of Estevan, Martensville, Melfort, Weyburn and Warman.
“We have received a fair amount of interest since first announcing the population-based policy to allocate additional liquor permits earlier this year,” Gene Makowsky, the minister responsible for the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority, said in a media release issued Thursday.
“The online auction process is a way to allocate the permits efficiently and transparently so that new permittees can complete the application process and open for business in a timely manner.”
The government announced the change to the process in May. The population of a community and the number of current retailers operating in that centre will determine the availability of permits in that community.
A community must have a population of at least 500 to be eligible for a retail liquor permit.
There will only be an auction if someone seeks a permit in a community where there’s an available retail store permit.
The government noted that all interested bidders must register at www.McDougallBay.com, the website on which all of the auctions are to occur. Each auction will have an opening bid of $1,000.
“Further auctions will be held over the next few months until all current expressions of interest are addressed,” the release said.
“After the initial rounds, auctions will take place on a quarterly basis, if interest is expressed in a community where there is at least one available permit.”
More information can be found here.