City received $485K in slots revenue from OLG

On Thursday, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation issued a third-quarter payment of $485,243 to Greater Sudbury for hosting OLG Slots at Sudbury Downs.

The money represents the city's share of gambling revenue. Since November 1999, Sudbury has received more than $35.5 million in non-tax gaming revenue.

“Revenues generated from OLG gaming sites allow host municipalities to invest in local priorities such as building infrastructure and providing support to local community organizations,” said Glenn Thibeault, MPP for Sudbury, in an OLG news release. “These funds also directly benefit the people of Ontario through vital public services like health care and education.”

The payments are made under a formula in the Municipality Contribution Agreement that determines how much cities receive for hosting an OLG gaming facility and are based on an escalating scale of gaming revenue that is consistent across all sites in Ontario.

At approximately $2 billion annually, OLG provides the Ontario government with its largest source of non-tax revenue. Modernization will help OLG provide more money to Ontario for hospitals and other government priorities.

In fiscal 2015-2016, the province will allocate $115 million in gaming revenue to support charities through the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Every year, the province allocates funding to the province’s problem gambling program for research, treatment and prevention. The amount for fiscal 2015-2016 is $38 million.