Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation News Release:
SAULT STE. MARIE – The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) today issued a fourth-quarter (January to March, 2015) non-tax gaming revenue payment of $579,270 to the City of Thunder Bay for hosting OLG Casino Thunder Bay. To date, Thunder Bay has received more than $35.7 million in non-tax gaming revenue.
“Revenues from OLG gaming sites allow host municipalities to invest in and upgrade their infrastructure and support various community organizations and initiatives,” said Michael Gravelle, MPP Thunder Bay-Superior North. “The people of Ontario benefit from these gaming revenues through provincial investment in key public services like health care and education.”
“The $2.3 million that was generated by Casino Thunder Bay in 2015 allows for investment in infrastructure that reaches our entire community,” said Bill Mauro, MPP for Thunder Bay-Atikokan. “This investment makes our region more attractive to business and strengthens our economy.”
These payments are made under an equitable formula in the Municipality Contribution Agreement that determines the funds municipalities 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 2014-2015, the province allocated $115 million in gaming revenue to support charities through the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Every year, the Government of Ontario allocates funding to the province’s problem gambling program for research, treatment and prevention. The amount for fiscal 2014-2015 was $39 million.
