From the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce, March 13
(The following post is one Niagara, Ontario business group’s reaction to news from Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation chairman Paul Godfrey this March 12 that the OLG is recommending locating a new casino in the Greater Toronto Area and possibly closing one or more existing casinos. A decision on the fate of one of the two casinos in Niagara Falls, Ontario could be decided as soon as this coming Friday, March 16. The OLG’s plan also leaves the future of the Fort Erie, Ontario Racetrack and adjoining Slots venue on the ropes.)
Niagara, Ontario – After a review of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s (OLG) plan to modernize the gaming industry in Ontario, which includes the opening of a new casino in Toronto and shuttering the slots at racetracks such as the Fort Erie Racetrack, the future of Niagara’s gaming industry is in doubt.
OLG chairman OLG unveils plan that could significantly downsize gambling operations in Niagara, Ontario.
The OLG aims to increase revenues to the government by $1.3-billion through the modernization of gambling in Ontario as a means to provide more than $2-billion in revenue to the provincial government’s bottom-line. According to the report, about 40 per cent of that new money would be expected to come from a proposed casino in the Greater Toronto Area.
“A casino in Toronto will have a negative impact on Niagara’s gaming industry,” explains Mwanzia. “The casinos in Niagara have been built as a complement to the surrounding tourism assets. With a downward trend in American visitors, the GTA has been a target market, and it is clear that a Toronto casino will erode the market potential for Niagara.”
In addition to a Toronto casino, the report also calls for the removal of slot revenues to racetracks in Ontario, which includes the Fort Erie Racetrack. For Fort Erie Racetrack, this would mean more than $5 million in lost revenues.
“The Fort Erie Racetrack has effectively bounced back after some challenging years,” continues Mwanzia. “The organization employs a lot people – both directly and indirectly – in the Fort Erie area. If the government follows through with the recommendation by OLG, the impact on Fort Erie will be significant.”
While the OLG report focuses on modernizing gaming in Ontario, it is also about increasing access to gaming for people in Ontario. With an increasing deficit, the Ontario government is looking for additional ways to raising revenue to cover increased expenses. “While we understand the rationale for this realignment, we think that the local impact will have greater consequences then is anticipated. The orphaning of the Niagara gaming sector by diluting the market, questions the massive investments made by both the public and private sectors in the Niagara region,” explains Steven Megannety, co-founder of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce. “We strongly recommend that we strengthen the draw of this international attraction first before we dilute the market for gaming in Ontario.”
“Increasing gambling in Ontario shouldn’t be a means in which to tackle the deficit,” adds Mwanzia. “The impact of the OLG recommendations will be far reaching – both social and economic – for Niagara. This could effectively cripple the gaming industry in Niagara – dealing another blow to an already fragile economy.”
The Greater Niagara Chamber is in the process of setting up meeting with the Minister of Finance, members of OLG and local chambers of commerce.
The Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce is the champion for the Niagara business community. The GNCC is partnering with business organizations to present the Niagara Economic Summit on Wed. May 9th at the Scotia Bank Convention Centre. Mark the date in your calendar.
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post in the comment boxes below. Please remember that NAL does not post anonymous comments or comments by people using pseudonyms. Only comments attached to real names are posted on this site.)
Niagara At Large 
There is only one interest here – How much $$$ can they bleed from the public – There is no concern on the governments behalf as to how this will affect anything except the governments revenue stream!!!
Eliminate the PARTY System – Institute recall- Stop electing IDIOTS !!!
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If the Liberal Government of Ontario want’s to revamp the gambling industry they should be very careful that they don’t kill the golden goose in the process, this is a government that has trashed every portfolio they have tampered with,usually the George Smitherman’s do the dirty deeds, We have already sent thousands of Ontario smokers across the river spending Canadian dollars there, we have told American Bingo players you are not welcome here, thiis” Dalton Gang” blames everybody but themselves for the ills of our once stupendous Province,We should get Kim Craitor to jump ship and run as an Independent which is how he got re-elected anyway and pull the plug of this incompetent” ship of fool,s”.if Toronto want’s a Casino at Ontario Place, let them have a referendum like we did back in the early1990s ,take it to the people don’t ram another thing down the throats of the people, we are weary of this behaviour that they know what’s good for us.
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Remarkable ,,,
The soul-sapping assault on rural and small town Ontario by the McGuinty regime never seems to end. On a real dark night in Ontario, it is always three am in McGuinty’s Niagara, day after remorseless day.
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We may have pioneered gambling but more importantly we pioneered the cheapest, cleanest, greenest form of electrical generation in Niagara. Our lower pricing for hydro was taken away from us to subsidize Toronto and the GTA decades ago. How about we ask for the feed-in tariff for the 2,278 MW we in Niagara contribute to Ontario’s energy mix. That would would contribute more to our economy than all the casinos combined. .
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It is sad when the Government of Ontario turns to increasing gambling in order to make up for low tax revenue. Casinos are generally a tax on the poor, and do not create new wealth like other industries. Instead, they redistribute money from the poor (who gamble more than the wealthy) to government. For a good article explaining why gambling adds minimal (if any) value to an economy, you can read this great article by Richard Florida: http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1139680–casino-a-bad-bet-for-toronto
As for competition, I think that if the Casinos in Niagara are truly competitive, then they will be able to draw business even if Toronto or other municipalities have their own casinos. However, I am pretty sure at least one of Niagara’s casinos is not competitive, and is being heavily subsidized in order to create local jobs. When will local government start providing better support for creative class jobs that are in industries that are currently booming, actually create wealth in our local economy, and pay higher wages? The casino is not one of those industries.
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