This week, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation announced that it will be compiling a study on the post-unprecedented situation in the Ontario horse racing industry. This assessment will be conducted with help from local horse racing groups and associations and its purpose would be to quantify the current economic impact of the provincial horse racing industry.
OLG provides a fun but responsible gambling to Ontarians in land-based and online forms, as well as overseeing lottery products and bingo and other electronic gaming products at Charitable Gaming Centres. With its activities, the Crown corporation is looking to improve the provincial horse racing industry for a more stable and sustainable future.
Beginning This Month
With the new study, OLG is looking to better understand how the horse racing sector has changed since the Crown agency’s first comprehensive economic impact study. It was done back in 2019. The new one will begin in late June 2023, while the corporation will also provide a survey questionnaire that will be made available through industry associations.
For the initiative, Ontario Racing reported that members can now look forward to an email with a link to the study. But other than that, the assessment will be also made available via OLG’s official website and people can subscribe with an email to get the link. OLG says everyone’s participation will be critical to accurately reflect the current state of the sector and its impact.
According to the Crown agency, the new survey will be open from late June 2023 until July 31, 2023. Its completion should take no longer than 15 minutes for respondents to fill out and it will include questions about operational and capital spending, and workforce information. Once it is available OLG will announce it to the public.
Lastly, the new and updated study on horse racing’s economic compact by OLG is projected to be released in the first months of 2024. It is believed that it will provide a crucial updated foundation of clear information that can be relied on by industry representatives to engage in meaningful and productive discussions about the equine racing sport in Ontario.
Woodbine Entertainment’s Effort
In the meantime, Woodbine Entertainment, the largest horse racing operator in the province, is also putting tremendous amounts of effort to enhance the quality of the local sport. Last week, the group introduced the exciting Swinger/Omni wagers will be now added to both Woodbine Racetrack and Woodbine Mohawk Park. The new product is available since June 1, 2023.
A while ago, Woodbine Entertainment reported that it was working on integrating betting on horse races into the province’s private digital sportsbooks which operate in the regulated iGaming market. The group aims for this to be a reality by the end of the year, and the change is a highly anticipated one, as currently mobile bets on horses can only be placed via the company’s HPIbet and Dark Horse Bets.
Source: “OLG Updating Horse Racing Economic Impact Study” Standardbred Canada, June 4, 2023
