The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation has announced that the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation has been given the 20-year contract for the “bundle” of casinos west of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This decision was made despite a money-laundering investigation that is centered on the flagship of Great Canadian’s casinos in British Columbia.
The “bundle” includes Flamboro Downs, Casino Brantford, Mohawk Racetrack and Grand River Raceway. Great Canadian will partner with Clairvest Group Inc., with Great Canadian owning 55 percent of the assets.
The partners will take over running the operations next spring.
The four casinos between them have over 2,500 slots, about 60 gaming tables and employ about 1,400. They did $450 million in gross revenues this fiscal year.
The is part of OLG’s modernization and overhaul of the province’s casinos with an eye towards making them more profitable for the government. The partners say they plan to invest “significant capital investment” and create 1,650 new jobs, while keeping racing at Flamboro Downs. In a statement the company said, “We intend to proceed with a significant redevelopment at that property that supports racing and creates new community amenities — subject to approvals.”
Its exact plans won’t be announced until “key partners and stakeholders” have been consulted, said a spokesman.
The opposition party in the province has called on the government to call off the deal in light of money laundering charges that have been leveled against a casino that Great Canadian operates in British Columbia.
The government responded that the investigation has the full cooperation of Great Canadian and OLG issued a statement confirming that it was “confident” in the partnership’s ability to run the bundle responsibly.
OLG passed over Hard Rock International and RockHammer Inc. in awarding the bundle. The decision makes Great Canadian the biggest gaming operator in Ontario.
The money laundering investigation is focused on the River Rock Casino in Richmond, B.C., where a report by the B.C. Attorney-General centered on $13.5 million in $20 bills that was accepted at the casino in July 2015.
This accusation is under investigation by B.C. authorities.
Great Canadian COO Terrance Doyle told The Globe and Mail “to our knowledge, the company is not under investigation in any jurisdiction” and the OLG said the company is “currently in good standing with the regulator.”
Critics of OLG called the decision to award the contract “quite shocking” in light of the ongoing investigation.
