Cathy Dobson
A new, private owner for the Point Edward casino will be announced within weeks, ushering in a new era of gambling in the region.
“We suspect they’ll want to change the name and renovate, and potentially expand,” said Tony Bitonti, spokesman for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
The OLG is selling its Point Edward property on the shores of the St. Clair River and entering into a 20-year contract with a private company to own and operate the gaming facility.
The contract guarantees all 325 jobs will be maintained with no changes for one year.
“After that it is up to the service provider,” said Bitonti.
The OLG, which has owned and operated all gaming facilities in Ontario since they opened in the 1990s, said four years ago it would search for private operators to manage its casinos and slots facilities. The corporation will continue to regulate gaming.
“We feel that the business has to change to ensure the long-term success of gaming in Ontario,” said Bitonti.
“Private operators will bring in their capital, their expertise and their vision. Until now the OLG has used taxpayers’ money to operate, but we’ve also given $2 billion a year, on average, to the province.”
A new model with private operators is projected to generate an additional $900 million for the province.
At the same time, the OLG will continue to make payments to each host municipality on a quarterly basis, as it has historically.
For Point Edward, that will mean continued payments of approximately $2.3 million a year. Hosting revenues for the village jumped dramatically after Hiawatha Slots in Sarnia abruptly closed in 2012.
“Hosting fees will continue to flow with no change,” Bitonti said.
Point Edward council is excited about the potential improvement and expansion that new ownership could mean, said Mayor Bev Hand.
“I can only see positives. We’re optimistic something good will come of it because our expectation is that they will want to make changes like refurbishment, or even a hotel or entertainment venue.”
Uncertainty over the past few years has been hard on the employees, Hand added.
“It will be really good once they know what’s going to happen.”
Until now, the OLG has owned, operated and regulated all gaming facilities in Ontario but said four years ago it needed to “modernize.”
The process has been gradual, Bitonti said, with Ontario being divided into eight regions, or bundles.
Point Edward is part of the southwest bundle, which includes smaller gaming facilities at London’s Western Fair, Clinton, Dresden, Woodstock and Hanover.
The southwest bundle will be contracted to a single private operator, Bitonti said.
“There’s been a lot of national and international interest in every bundle,” he said. “The OLG has done extensive due diligence and is choosing a private operator from a shortlist of up to five.
“I can tell you that the successful bidder in the southwest and in the north will be announced in the coming weeks, not months.”
In eastern Ontario, where a contract was awarded last year to operate two gaming facilities at Kawartha Downs, the Thousand Islands and a new casino being built in Belleville, the winning bidder known as Great Canadian Gaming is spending more than $100 million on upgrades and new construction.
“I can’t say other successful bidders (such as the one awarded the southwest bundle) will do the same thing,” said Bitonti. “We expect the new operator will look at the marketplace as a whole and may add tables or slots in Point Edward.
“But before making those decisions, they’ll have to put together a business plan for each location that must be approved by the OLG and the province and, in some cases, the municipality too.”
While details about renovation or expansion in Point Edward aren’t clear, the OLG has already confirmed that the southwest region is not approved for an additional gaming facility.
“Unfortunately, Hiawatha closed and there will be six in the southwest bundle,” said Bitonti. “There are no plans for a new (gaming facility).”