Ontario govt announced casino agreement

The government has announced a deal to allow two facilities just seven kilometres apart.

Canada.- The government of Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, has announced that a deal to allow two casinos just seven kilometres apart from each other has been reached. The deal finalises a long fight between two municipalities of east Toronto over gambling in the region.

The government said this week that an agreement-in-principle has been reached to keep open the casino located at Ajax Downs, which required a redrawing of rules as established by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. The facility is set to compete with a planned mega casino complex in Pickering.

Both casinos are set to be operated by Great Canadian Gaming Corp, which has a contract with OLG to run the facilities in the Greater Toronto Area. Earlier this year the company announced that it would move the casino at Ajax Downs to Pickering.

Ajax Mayor Steve Parish said: “The bottom line for the government is maximizing revenue to the provincial government, and I would think that the government would be persuaded by the mix that gives the provincial government the maximum revenue.”