The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation issued second-quarter payments Wednesday to its roster of 29 host communities across the province.
Altogether, the payments covering the period from July 1 – Sept. 30, totalled $40,331,124. Specifically, these quarterly payments are designed to benefit regions that are home to retail casinos in Ontario.
With the latest round of funding, these host communities have received nearly $85 million during OLG’s fiscal year (April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2o24).
“OLG continues to be a proud partner in hosting gaming communities,” Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy said in a release.
“Municipality Contribution Agreement payments help these municipalities fund priorities such as community infrastructure, parks and recreation and local health care facilities, benefiting families and local residents.”
Five cities earn Q2 payments greater than $1 million
Because MCA payments are calculated using a formula that involves a graduated scale of gaming revenue at the host site, some municipalities are going to receive payments that are much larger than others.
To that point, at least five host cities earned Q2 payments in excess of $1 million.
Niagara Falls, which plays host to Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara, received just under $5.4 million. The latest cheque brought its total for the fiscal year to $11.7 million and $206.6 million since 1996.
The city of Pickering earned $4.1 million for its role in hosting Pickering Casino Resort. Compared to Q1’s $6.1 million payment, the most recent figure is down by a significant margin.
The success of Caesars Windsor has granted its namesake city a Q2 payment exceeding $2.3 million. For the year, Windsor has received over $5.7 million and more than $88 million since the site opened in 1994.
Ajax and Brantford generated nearly identical Q2 payments of $1.43 million and $1.39 million, respectively. Both municipalities gathered similar benefits in Q1. The host of Casino Ajax earned $1.48 million, while the home of Elements Casino Brantford took in $1.38 million.
OLG honoured with garden party in September
On Sept. 13, the town of Gananoque and the Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands held an invitation-only garden party at Gananoque’s Town Hall Square to express their gratitude to the OLG.
Together, the municipalities benefit from hosting the Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands located in Gananoque. For the year, each host received $1,145,047 from the OLG, amounting to $2,290,094 altogether.
Since its foundation in 1975, the crown corporation has provided some $57 billion to the people and province of Ontario. More recently, as part of the MCA, OLG has re-invested more than $2 billion in non-tax gaming revenue into its host communities since 1994.
