One of Canada’s largest gambling companies, Gateway Casinos and Entertainment Ltd., continues its growth strategy with confidence after securing a crucial gaming bundle of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG). The company announced Thursday that it has been selected by OLG as the service provider of its Central Gaming Bundle.
This gives Gateway the right to build a casino and entertainment complex in Collingwood or Wasaga Beach, which would require additional approvals by local authorities. The Central Gaming Bundle also includes the existing OLG Slots at Georgian Downs, which houses more than 950 slot machines and electronic table games. Gateway will also be responsible for the daily operations at Casino Rama Resort, a casino, hotel, and entertainment complex in the Chippewas of Rama First Nation reserve.
As the service provider of OLG’s Central Gaming Bundle, the company will operate these facilities on its behalf, while a part of the revenue will also be collected by the Ontario Government’s corporation. With this agreement, the OLG has now commenced its planned gaming industry modernization in Ontario. The first stage of the transition and asset purchase deal was inked on Wednesday and it will be closed within a few months when a 23-year casino operating and services agreement will be signed.
The company will start operations at the said gambling venues this summer. According to the agreement, it has to keep all employees in their positions for at least a 12-month period. The modernization of the Ontario gambling market will significantly boost the number of visitors to the region and the tourism sector, as a whole, Wasaga Beach Mayor Brian Smith commented on the deal. The Mayor of Collingwood, Sandra Cooper, also welcomes the new project, although Gateway is yet to decide the location of the new casino complex.
Gateway Expands Its Footprint in Canada’s Gambling Market
Gateway Casinos and Entertainment Ltd., which is headquartered in Burnaby, British Columbia, is rapidly increasing its presence in Canada’s Gambling Market with a large number of recent acquisitions. It previously won OLG’s North and Southwest Gaming Bundles, which gave it the right to operate nine existing gambling facilities and to build two new venues. As part of this agreement, it is now planning casinos in Kenora and North Bay.
The company has expanded its portfolio of casino and hospitality properties significantly in the past two years. It currently operates 25 functioning facilities in Ontario, British Columbia, and Edmonton, more than double from 2015, when it had only 12 properties. It is now working on several projects, among which the rebranding of Palace Casino at the West Edmonton Mall to Starlight Casino Edmonton. It will also go through a vast renovation process at the cost of CA$57 million.
Other projects within Gateway’s growth strategy are the Starlight Casino Point Edward, the planned $70-million development in Delta, and more renovations in Kelowna, Chances Campbell River, and Chances Courtenay.
