Backgrounder - OLG Slots at Fort Erie
March 14, 2012
Quick Facts:
• Site Opened: September 1999
• Number of Slots: 401
• Distance to closest OLG (Fallsview Casino): 27 km
• Revenue (2001 to present): $123 million to $29 million
• Number of Employees (full and part time): 160 and 50
In “Modernizing Lottery and Gaming in Ontario”, a report delivered to the Minister of Finance on March 12, 2012, OLG outlined a proposal to transform lottery and gaming in Ontario to help address the province’s fiscal challenge. By modernizing lottery and gaming, in addition to initiatives currently underway, in five years OLG will contribute an additional $1.3 billion annually to key public priorities; usher in $3 billion in private sector capital investment in the province; and help create some 2,300 net new jobs across Ontario and an estimated 4,000 service sector jobs in the hospitality, hotel, restaurant, entertainment and retail sectors.
Changing market forces have made it necessary for OLG to review its current offerings through the Slots-at-Racetrack program. As part of that Strategic Business Review, we identified three border gaming sites as underperforming, largely due to a steep decline in U.S. visitors. The decline is reflected by the revenue stream from our border facilities: A decade ago, border casinos returned a net profit of $800 million dollars a year – now, that profit is less than $100 million dollars and falling.
As a result, we will be moving our slot machine offerings from the Fort Erie Racetrack. While OLG regrets this impact, it is important to note that by modernizing the gaming industry, we will help create new employment opportunities in Ontario through a new, revitalized gaming sector. Gaming across Ontario needs to better reflect what customers want, and must be closer to where they live, thus all future decisions will be made with market demand as our top priority.
Copies of Modernizing Lottery and Gaming in Ontario are available at www.olg.ca.
• Site Opened: September 1999
• Number of Slots: 401
• Distance to closest OLG (Fallsview Casino): 27 km
• Revenue (2001 to present): $123 million to $29 million
• Number of Employees (full and part time): 160 and 50
In “Modernizing Lottery and Gaming in Ontario”, a report delivered to the Minister of Finance on March 12, 2012, OLG outlined a proposal to transform lottery and gaming in Ontario to help address the province’s fiscal challenge. By modernizing lottery and gaming, in addition to initiatives currently underway, in five years OLG will contribute an additional $1.3 billion annually to key public priorities; usher in $3 billion in private sector capital investment in the province; and help create some 2,300 net new jobs across Ontario and an estimated 4,000 service sector jobs in the hospitality, hotel, restaurant, entertainment and retail sectors.
Changing market forces have made it necessary for OLG to review its current offerings through the Slots-at-Racetrack program. As part of that Strategic Business Review, we identified three border gaming sites as underperforming, largely due to a steep decline in U.S. visitors. The decline is reflected by the revenue stream from our border facilities: A decade ago, border casinos returned a net profit of $800 million dollars a year – now, that profit is less than $100 million dollars and falling.
As a result, we will be moving our slot machine offerings from the Fort Erie Racetrack. While OLG regrets this impact, it is important to note that by modernizing the gaming industry, we will help create new employment opportunities in Ontario through a new, revitalized gaming sector. Gaming across Ontario needs to better reflect what customers want, and must be closer to where they live, thus all future decisions will be made with market demand as our top priority.
Copies of Modernizing Lottery and Gaming in Ontario are available at www.olg.ca.
