In a special appreciation event, Innisfil has extended its gratitude and recognition towards the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and its financial allocations to the town. Every quarter the town receives a percentage of the gambling revenue from Gateway Casinos Innisfil, which is OLG’s way of giving back to communities that host its gaming properties.
Gaming payments are provided via the Municipality Contribution Agreement which was renewed more than two decades ago. Every host community, much like Innisfil, receives a different payment based on a formula consistently applied across all gaming locations across the province. It uses a graduated scale of betting revenue at each site.
Extending Gratitude
During the event, Mayor Lynn Dollin commented the community is deeply grateful for the contributions made to the town, which support by providing high-quality services and ensure that the town can continue to expand and develop its community. Since 2001, the Crown corporation has delivered over CA$105,782,030 to the town, supporting various initiatives.
Kathleen Devine, OLG’s senior municipal relations manager said the Crown is honoured to be a key factor to the town. She added that all of OLG’s profits are reinvested into the province to support provincial priorities every year. These can be a wide range of initiatives, starting from critical infrastructure all the way to important local programs and even community festivals.
One of the larger beneficiaries in the area of the OLG funds is the Innisfil Community Foundation, also known as ICF. The foundation distributes grants to not-for-profits and other organizations in the region to make sure sustainability, program delivery, and expansion of services. At this year’s appreciation event, ICF shared which organizations received grants for 2023.
Sandra Rizzardo, Chair of the Innisfil Community Foundation’s Board of Directors commented OLG’s generosity allows the organization to aid local charities during turbulent times. She elaborated that last year, the foundation issued grants to 17 different organizations thanks to the Crown. Meanwhile, the town and OLG thanked Gateway Casinos for organizing the event.
OLG Sends Latest Quarterly Contributions
This month, the Crown agency also sent out its Q3 allocations for the 2023-24 fiscal year to municipal partners. It delivered CA$34,104,262 to 29 communities across Ontario. Niagara Falls was the largest recipient as it received CA$4 million for hosting Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara for the period between October 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023.
In addition to Niagara Falls, Windsor also received a big chunk of gambling money for Q3. The city hosts Caesars Windsor Casino and got CA$2,146,955 for Q3 of 2023-24. After the recent payment, the city has bagged a total of CA$7,886,295 since the start of the fiscal year. Since its launch in May 1994, the gaming location has delivered over CA$90 million in non-tax proceeds.
Source: “Town hosts appreciation event for OLG, ‘vital part’ of Innisfil” Innisfil Today, January 30, 2024
