The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) is concerned that the integration of horse racing into the OLG’s Gaming Strategy will be impossible if the existing OLG Modernization Plan continues to go forward. The OLG’s announcement of the RFPQs (Request for Pre-Qualification) for their Southwest Gaming Bundle puts Ontario’s horse racing industry at further risk […]
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
If you weren’t at City Hall on Tuesday, you will likely have heard by now that Toronto City Council voted against expanded gaming at Woodbine Racetrack. In the end, it was a very close vote – 24 to 20, as opposed to the 40-to-4 vote against a downtown casino. Needless to say, we are shocked […]
Paul Godfrey, chair of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), has been fired. And, as a result, all seven members of the OLG Board of Directors have resigned. Godfrey, who took on the role as chair of the OLG in 2009, has reinvented the organization, helping it become modern and more efficient, according to […]
As reported on May 13th, Ontario’s Premier, Kathleen Wynne, has tasked the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel with producing a draft plan for integrating horse racing into the Ontario gaming strategy by June, and a final plan by October. Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) president, Sue Leslie, recently did an At the Gate podcast […]
Ontario has asked the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel to bring forward a long-term plan to implement recommendations from its final report. As transition funding negotiations with track operators are now substantially complete, the province has asked the panel for a plan that sets a clear path forward on: • modernizing the governance and regulation […]
The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) has designed a survey to gather information with which to present an accurate picture of the personal effect the cancellation of slots at the racetracks (SARP) has had on the horse racing and breeding industry in Ontario. While industry participants may be aware of the devastating effects the OLG’s […]
The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) is calling on Premier Kathleen Wynne to pause the OLG’s modernization process until after the Auditor General releases his report on the decisions surrounding the OLG modernization plan. Today, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts voted to ask the Auditor General to investigate the OLG’s process in determining […]
The Ontario Legislature passed a motion to continue the Slots at Racetracks Program beyond the cancellation deadline imposed by the Liberals. In addition, the motion called for the suspension of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s gaming modernization plan until municipal referendums can be held in 2014. The motion, put forward by Essex MPP Tara Natyshak, received […]
The slow-motion train wreck known as OLG “modernization” continues to pick up steam and claim victims. One year ago, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) announced plans for a radical expansion of gambling operations in the province, in partnership with private interests. No longer would the OLG consider local economic development when locating their […]
Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) has announced a significant restructuring of its operating model. While the company recently announced new transitional agreements with the Ontario government and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), the revenue from those agreements will be significantly less than WEG earned through the Slots-at-Racetracks partnership. As a result, WEG has had […]
Deloitte Touche LLP is still in the process of conducting their audit of Woodbine Entertainment Group’s finances. In the interim, the Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) continue to negotiate a lease agreement for floor space for the slots at Woodbine Racetrack. As a result of the status of the […]
When the government announced the end of the Slots-At-Racetracks program they noted it was part of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s Modernization Strategy. Part of that strategy includes the OLG’s Charitable Bingo and Gaming Revitalization Initiative which they note includes “new products and technologies – like electronic bingo and other games – to invigorate […]
Up to 338 acres in Fort Erie, Ontario, 100 acres of which used to be Fort Erie Race Track is for sale
Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association president, Sue Leslie, was Norm Borg’s guest, on November 1st, for a special edition podcast of At the Gate, Racing at the Crossroads. Leslie expressed her thoughts and concerns on the recent release of the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel’s final report. First and foremost, regarding the Sustainable Horse Racing […]
The three member Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel has submitted their final report to the Honourable Ted McMeekin, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The prorogation of parliament will not affect the discharge of the report and its recommendations which is anticipated to be officially released by the end of the month. In an […]
