The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation has completed the distribution of its most recent revenue-sharing payments from casino operations to host communities throughout the province. Windsor, the home of Caesars Windsor Casino, is among the larger recipients, receiving just over CA$2.1 million for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2023-2024.
Via the Municipality Contribution Agreement, the Crown agency is able to share a portion of its gambling revenue with communities hosting its casinos. The allocations for host communities are determined through a formula applied uniformly across all Ontario gaming locations. It is based on a graduated scale, taking into account the gaming income at each property.
Windsor Gets its Share
Last week, the City of Windsor received its Q3 gambling allocation from OLG, which applies to the period between October 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023. In that time, Caesars Windsor Casino managed to accumulate CA$2,146,955 for its host municipality. After the recent payment, the city has now bagged a total of CA$7,886,295 since the start of the fiscal year.
In the meantime, OLG is also busy trying to find the next operator for the Windsor casino property. Recent reports suggest that three gambling companies are in contention for the location, with Caesars Entertainment, Bally’s Corporation and indigenous-owned Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment being mentioned. However, those have not been officially confirmed by the OLG.
In Windsor, the mayor, tourism officials, and union officials, have declared their support for the establishment to remain under Caesars’ wing. Dave Cassidy, president of Unifor Local 444, a labour union that represents workers from the establishment, said the company should be the frontrunner, based on the job it has done managing the gaming amenity and providing quality jobs.
Contributing to Better Ontario
A while back Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance said OLG continues to deliver Municipality Contribution Agreement outgoings to casino host communities for key programs and services that benefit all Ontarians. In his words, brick-and-mortar casinos provide stable local jobs and have an important part in supporting strong, vibrant communities for families to live, work, and play.
In its press, OLG said for Q3 it paid out over CA$34 million to 29 host communities across Ontario. This includes Brantford, which hosts Elements Casino Brantford. For Q3, the city received approximately CA$1.3 million, bringing the total payment for 2023-24 to over CA$4 million. Since its opening the casino has contributed more than CA$100.3 million to the city.
In addition to that, Niagara Falls was also among the recipients of a quarterly sum from OLG, as it hosts Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara. For Q3 of 2023-2024, the city was awarded the largest allocation of all host communities with around CA$4 million. Since the first casino opened in December 1996, the city has bagged approximately CA$210.77 million from OLG.
Source: Waddell, Dave “OLG pays Windsor $2.1M for third-quarter casino revenues” Windsor Star, January 19, 2024
