The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation has started issuing its quarterly payments to the municipalities of Ontario for the host of gaming properties. For the period of July 1 through September 30, 2021, the city of Niagara Falls has received a second-quarter non-tax gaming revenue payment in the amount of CA$4,668,393.
According to data provided by the OLG, since December 1996, the city of Niagara Falls has received more than CA$168 million in non-tax gaming income, for the hosting of Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara. The money is then used by the province as a way to fund numerous local sectors such as education, healthcare, and more.
Massive Help for the Province
Peter Bethlenfalvy, Ontarioās Minister of Finance commented that the local government is quite pleased to have brick-and-mortar casinos back up and running. In his words, the casinosā contribution to the provincial economy is an important one and they operate in compliance with the provincial health and safety protocols for the patronsā safety.
Municipality Contribution Agreements is a contract between the OLG and the municipalities of Ontario that rewards the regions for the host gaming properties. The non-tax gaming payments are determined by a prescribed formula applied to all gaming sites in the province and which is based on a graduated scale of gaming revenue at the property or properties.
Payments Rolled Out
The OLG has also sent out its quarterly payments to several other municipalities in Ontario. The City of Belleville recently received CA$591,000 from the Crown in Q2 payments for the hosting of Shoreline Casino Belleville. The gaming property was not operational for the entirety of the second quarter, hence the smaller amount of revenue. In contrast, for the same quarter but in 2019, the city received CA$883,000.
The Crown corporation also issued its quarterly allocations to The City of Peterborough and Cavan-Monaghan Township, as both regions received respectively CA$571,000 and CA$114,000. Both were awarded for the hosting of Shorelines Casino Peterborough and the township hosting Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs. The Town of Hanover has also received a payment of CA$309,990 for the hosting of Gateway Casinos & Entertainment property.
Windsor Payment Issued
On Friday, the Crown agency has also paid its financial obligations to Windsor for the cityās hosting of Caesars Windsor Casino. The payment was in the sum of CA$1,752,526, and the gaming hotspot reopened its doors for clients in the summer, after the lift of provincial health and safety restrictions. Since 1994, the city has obtained more than CA$99 million in non-tax gaming revenue from OLG.
Recent Controversy
Recently, a federal audit conducted by the federal government of Canada discovered some irregularities in the Crown corporationās latest financial performances. The report has found that officials of the agency misused corporate credit cards, as well as being overcompensated with their salary raises in comparison to other state-run institutions, along with several other violations in their operations.
Source: Redmond, Don āNiagara Falls handed $4.6M for having Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara in the cityā In Niagara, October 21, 2021
