iDEA Coordinating with Canadian Gaming Assoc in Opposing GCG Proposal
iDEA is coordinating with the CGA in opposing GCG’s proposal and sent a letter to the Minister of Finance and the Attorney General of Ontario this afternoon. Both the CGA, and our consultant Terry DeBono, believe the more letters our side can generate, the better the chances of preserving an open licensing system and a timely launch. Accordingly, we ask any iDEA members that intend to participate in the Ontario market to email their own letters.
Great Canadian Gaming (GCG) – which runs 14 casinos in Ontario – has proposed to the Attorney General and Ministry of Finance that the provincial government should abandon the open, free-market approach to licensing pursued by AGCO and instead have a market where licenses are only made available to the 5 companies that operate brick-and-mortar casinos. They also propose that iGaming be taxed at the same rate as B&M casinos – a rate as high as 70% of GGR.
GCG is basically alone on this; none of the other B&M casino companies in the province have voiced support for this, and the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) is opposed. The province was looking at a late-February or early March launch date. However, this controversy could postpone launch until after the elections and well into the summer. There is some suspicion that delay is GCG’s real goal – that they have not adequately prepared for the launch of iGaming and are trying to buy time.
For those willing to email letters, we recommend the following talking points:
- Your company has been following the regulatory process in Ontario and was looking forward to operating in an open, free-market licensing regime.
- Your company is a member of iDEA Growth and concur in the points made in iDEA’s letter.
- Your company would make investments in Ontario to operate in a licensed market in Ontario.
- iGaming does not cannibalize land-based casino gaming; it complements it.
The letters do not need to be long; they are mainly intended to counter two assertions from GCG: 1) that an open licensing market would only benefit companies that will not invest in Ontario, and 2) that iGaming cannibalizes B&M casinos.
This is quite time-sensitive. Knowledgeable people believe that the provincial government will decide whether to postpone the launch by the middle of next week if not sooner. Though we ask that you email the letters rather than mailing them, the address blocks to include are as follows:
The Honorable Doug Downey
Attorney General of Ontario
McMurtry-Scott Building
720 Bay Street, 11th floor
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2S9
The Honorable Peter Bethlenfalvy
Minister of Finance
Frost Bldg South
7th Floor 7 Queen’s Park Crescent
Toronto, ON M7A 1Y7
Letters should be emailed to:
Doug Downey: doug.downey@pc.ola.org
Peter Bethenfalvy: Minister.fin@ontario.ca
Please copy or blind-copy Dan Walsh at dwalsh@ideagrowth.org or forward the email after it is sent. Feel free to email Dan or call him at +1 (202) 251-0005 with any questions.
Several articles regarding the situation in Ontario are also included below for reference:
- https://www.casino.org/news/great-canadian-claims-ontario-legalizing-igaming-devastate-casinos/
- https://sportshandle.com/ontario-igaming-sports-betting-report/
- https://news.worldcasinodirectory.com/ontario-warned-over-implementation-of-planned-open-license-igaming-regime-99208?__cf_chl_f_tk=mYnJ6YR6hpfuj4byHlSZUj_iQ1NaPzNVADUvNqgx9Oo-1642593258-0-gaNycGzNCNE