OLG Retains Fairness Advisor for Modernization Plan
As the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) prepares to thoroughly modernize the group and increase profitability, it announced that it will retain the services of Honorable Coulter A. Osborne QC as Independent Fairness Advisor for the modernization process.
Hon. Osborne is former Associate Chief Justice of Ontario and former Integrity Commissioner for the Province of Ontario and will see the OLG through one of its most ambitious projects to date.
The President and Chief Executive Officer of OLG, Rod Phillips said: "OLG is honored to have the services and sage counsel of Mr. Osborne."
"In the course of his career as jurist, arbitrator and mediator, Mr. Osborne has demonstrated his ability to act as a neutral advisor for complex and evolving issues," he said.
Osborne to Report Directly to OLG
In a press release put out about the OLG retaining its press advisor, it was said that Osborne would be responsible for overseeing and evaluating the fairness of the new modernization process, and he will report directly to the board of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
"The modernization of OLG rates as one of the largest and most complex projects of its kind in Canada," said Phillips. "Ontarians can be reassured that the modernization process will be open, fair, competitive and transparent."
Modernization Process Begins
Plans to totally upgrade and overhaul the OLG were announced by the chair of the corporation, Paul Godfrey and the Minister of Finance, Dwight Duncan on March 12th, 2012.
Several months later, the OLG released its Request for Information for Gaming, and earlier this month, it released the Request for Information for Lottery. When these two close, the group will start to determine how to engage regulated private sector providers for its casinos and gaming rooms across the province.
The next stage in the OLG modernization process is to issue a Request for Pre-Qualifications, inviting vendors who are interested in Request for Proposals to show that they are compliant with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission's requirements.
Once this process is complete, the Request for Proposals state will begin, and this could be as soon as the end of summer, 2012.
Since it was launched in 1975, OLG services, including lottery, casinos, slots and resorts have generated a staggering $34 billion for the province.
