OLG Reports $2 Billion Profits
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation announced this week that its revenues for the 2010-2011 period were $6.7 billion, a record number for the gambling group.
Profits for the OLG in this time period were $2 billion, while revenues were up $400 million from the previous fiscal year.
According to the chair of OLG, Paul Godfrey, "this level of contribution is unique among provincial agencies, boards and commissions."
He promised that the proceeds would go towards providing the province's "hospitals, schools, charities, amateur sports and culture" with the funds they need.
The profit enjoyed by the OLG from these revenues is the highest recorded since 2003 and is $193 million more than 2009-2010.
18,000 Employees, $11.6 million in Bonuses
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation employs 18,000 people, who were praised by the group's new president, Rod Philips for the successful year.
The OLG said that 6,000 of these employees would receive $11.6 million worth of payouts as part of the group's "pay-for-performance" incentive.
"It's not a bonus, it's paid for performance," said Paul Godfrey in defense of these payouts.
OLG is keen to maintain its current reputation of a transparent, scandal-free corporation, after going through a series of embarrassing incidents in the past few years. For example, there was a question mark over nearly $200 million wins by lottery retailers and their families, as well as the awarding of foreign made cars as casino prizes at a time when the country was going through a local car manufacturers crisis. In the past, OLG also suffered from slot machines that didn't work, as well as scratch and win tickets that were not printed properly.
Godfrey said that in the last year at least, the corporation has tried its utmost to prove to the Canadian public that the integrity of the OLG is as "solid as a rock".
