DATELINE GLOBALmarch 2012
BIG GAMBLE FOR BIG CITY Ontario finalizing Toronto casino study
T
he Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation is finishing up a
study on land-based gambling which had been requested by the provincial government. OLG President and Chief Executive Officer Rod Phillips said, “We were asked over a year ago by the government to prepare a report and look at how we can mod- ernize and improve the returns to the province in a responsible manner. We’re looking at what is the right way to approach lottery and gaming in Ontario for the next three to five years based on what’s in the best interest of Ontario.” Many people believe that points to one or
no opinion. In Niagara Falls, MPP Kim
Finance Minister Dwight Duncan wants to maximize revenue potential of gaming in Ontario.
Craitor said he would fight against a Toronto casino, claiming it would negatively impact casinos in his district. He noted 30 percent of Niagara casino revenue comes from the greater Toronto area. Craitor said, “I’d present it from an eco- nomic point of view. I was there when we created the casinos. The intent was to not just raise money for the province, but spur econom- ic development. Go and look at the billions of dollars spent on this community because of the eco-
more casinos in Toronto. Councilor Giorgio Mammoliti has proposed a Las Vegas-style casino at a revitalized Ontario Place and another at the Woodbine Racetrack in Etobicoke, which already is a racino. He said the need to protect existing casinos in Niagara Falls and Windsor has been used for too long as an excuse to deny Toronto its own casino. He said, “Toronto deserves a world- class casino. I would say it’s time for Toronto to get some help here. We’re suffering. And it’s time that everybody consider us for a change. People like to gamble, whether we like it or not, and they will gamble.” In fact, more than 60 percent of Ontarians
gamble, according to a 2005 study by the Toronto- based Responsible Gambling Council. However, a recent poll of 1,560 individuals age 18-plus in Toronto, conducted by Forum Research, indicated 50 percent of respondents opposed a new casino in Toronto; 35 percent approved and 15 percent have
FIRE SALE T
nomic development, because of the casino. In Toronto, you’d just be putting up a building and taking money out of people’s pockets, not promot- ing further economic development.” Currently, the Ontario Lottery & Gaming
Corporation generates $7 billion a year in business and returns to Ontario range from $1.7 billion to $2 billion, said spokesperson Tony Bitonti. However, over the past decade, said Phillips, the contribution from casinos that border the United States has declined from $800 million to $100 million last year. Finance Minister Dwight Duncan explained,
“When Casino Windsor was opened there were no casinos in Detroit. There are three now and there’s a casino coming to Toledo, Ohio. The border is much, much more difficult and Americans need a passport to come over. That world is changed, so what does that mean going forward? How do we continue to protect those border casinos as we maximize the profit potential of OLG?”
Mexico gaming revenue down in 2011
he revenue generated by Mexico’s slot machine casinos is estimated to have fallen
by 7.8 percent in 2011. The estimate from PricewaterhouseCoopers reflected the effects of the fire-bombing of the Casino Royale in the city of Monterrey last August. Revenue reached $590 million for the year,
down some $50 million from that of 2010. Miguel Angel Ochoa, president of the
Association of Licensees, Operators and Providers of the Gaming and Betting Industry— AIEJA—said a negative trend has been exacer- bated by the Monterrey tragedy. “Before the Casino Royale incident, we had
already recorded low sales,” said Ochoa. “But in the last quarter of the year, we saw with intensity the effects of the toughening policies in several states, which started closing casinos almost all day.”
Ochoa is predicting a recovery of 15-20 per- cent for 2012.
www.ggbmagazine.com • March 2012
No Pre-Commitment By 2013
Australian plan to limit losses on pokies goes nowhere
T
he Australian state of Victoria will miss its original 2013 deadline for pre-com-
mitment technology on slot machines. According to the Age, the state govern-
ment says it is still committed to voluntary pre-commitment by 2016. However, it is no longer “technically feasible” to have pre-com- mitment by 2013. Voluntary pre-commitment would allow
players to set a loss limit or a time limit on their slot play. Once the set limit is reached, the player would be locked out of play for a specified period. Victoria was
supposed to have the technology within individual gaming venues by 2013. By that time, a player who had reached his or her set limit would not be able to continue play at another machine within the venue. By 2015-16 the technology was to have linked all slots statewide, which would prevent a player from circumventing a pre-set limit by going to a different venue. Emily Broadbent, a spokeswoman for
Victoria Gaming Minister Michael O’Brien has abandoned the timeline for pre-commitment.
Victoria Gaming Minister Michael O’Brien, said the state government had been forced to abandon its timeline because the national government had not yet clarified with legisla- tion technical standards for state pre-com- mitment systems. The change in policy comes just weeks
after Prime Minister Julia Gillard scrapped her deal with Independent MP Andrew Wilkie for mandatory nationwide pre-com- mitment. Instead, the government intends to run a
trial of pre-commitment in the Australian Capital Territory, with the eventual goal of extending the system to all slot machines in Australia.
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