City receives $622,799 in slots revenue

Greater Sudbury has received its latest payment from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, a total of $622,799 for the second quarter.

The money is the city's share for hosting OLG Slots at Sudbury Downs. The agreement has been in place since the late 1990s and has earned the city $30 million in non-tax gaming revenue.

“The gaming revenue shared with OLG host communities allows local governments to make significant investments in important programs and infrastructure,” said Rick Bartolucci, MPP for Sudbury, in a news release. “In turn, the additional revenues generated by the modernization of Ontario’s lottery and gaming businesses will allow for continued investment in provincial priorities like health care.”

The latest payments are being made under a new formula that sets the fee municipalities receive for hosting a gaming facility. The formula provides more money for host municipalities, based on an escalating scale of slot machine revenue.

Under the agreement, municipalities will receive:
-5.25 per cent on the first $65 million of slot revenue;
-three per cent on the next $135 million of slot revenue;
-2.5 per cent on the next $300 million of slot revenue;
-0.5 per cent on slot revenue above $500 million;
-four per cent on table game revenue.

OLG’s modernization will increase revenue for the province and create some 2,300 net new industry jobs and about 4,000 service sector jobs. It will improve how lottery and gaming is delivered in Ontario and expand OLG’s approach to Responsible Gambling.

In 2013-2014, 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 Ontario’s problem gambling program for research, treatment and prevention. The amount for 2013-2014 is budgeted at $41 million.