OLG Lowers Toronto Casino Revenue Expectations
The official lottery group of Ontario, the OLG has taken a more realistic look at the figures which the city of Toronto can expect to make by hosting a new downtown casino facility, and has adjusted them.
While previously Ontario Lottery and Gaming said Toronto could expect to make up to $168 million annually (based on a Ernst and Young report), Tony Bitonti, speaking for the OLG said this week that realistically the city should expect a provincial hosting fee of between $50 and $100 million per year.
The revised sum appeared in materials that were prepared for public consultations on the casino by the city. These materials will be made available to the public when meetings begin in Toronto this week to discuss the idea of a new casino.
It is believed that the reduced revenues may make the casino's chances of passing through an expected wall of opposition that much more slim.
Mayor Ford Supports Casino
One of the biggest supporters of a new casino in Toronto is city mayor Rob Ford, who has continued to push the idea based on the Ernst and Young report, showing that the city could expect to make $168 million, as well as up to $40 million in property taxes.
In November last year, Ford said publicly: "I've always said I will support a casino if it is creating good paying jobs, and the numbers that I'm seeing, if it is going to bring in $200 million a year, absolutely I'm voting for it."
However, the OLG threw cold water on this sum when it said on Friday that, after consultations with potential casino operators, it did not see revenues of more than $100 million.
"If it's a $2 billion facility, you're looking at a certain fee amount, and if it's a $3 billion, then you're looking at a little bit more," said the spokesman.
Opposition to Toronto Casino
In the meantime, public debate on the new casino will begin in earnest this week as public consultations kick off. Council is expected to make its final vote at the beginning of April this year.
While many support the idea, especially due to the revenue and job opportunities it will generate, others are skeptical.
Councilor Mike Layton, one of a number of opponents to the OLG Toronto casino, said: "All of the players in this are overestimating the potential benefits."
He said that the "rosy figures" issued by Ernst and Young, and even the OLG, don't take into account negative impacts such as lost parking to other businesses in the casino's proximity and potential traffic problems.
