Toronto?s city council asked for a report on the economic impact of a new casino before voting for or against the idea. Its version of our city council finance committee is going to take a look at it Nov. 5, with a council vote due Nov. 27.
Here?s the Toronto staff report and here?s the heftier report from Ernst & Young that it summarizes.
No dancing around: the report says a new casino, in any of a number of permutations (standalone vs. larger entertainment complex, in a few different locations), would be a huge economic plus for Toronto. The least awesome scenario they came up with was adding a standalone casino to the Woodbine racetrack, and even that would mean 2,100 to 2,700 additional jobs, $270 million in new money for the city economy, and between $32 million and $95 million for the city government itself. The most awesome scenario, a new entertainment complex probably on the downtown waterfront, would be two to four times better on all those measurements.
The down sides, in increased health problems, are treated briefly (the city?s health department is to report separately), but they?re overall considered fairly minor:
The Medical Officer of Health (MOH) has prepared a technical report on the public health impacts of gambling and of expanded access to gaming venues. The key findings are summarized herein. The MOH?s report concludes that increasing access to gambling through any means (including a casino) is associated with an increase in the prevalence of problem gambling which presently affects 0.2% of the population. Consequently, a casino located anywhere in the GTA will likely increase health risks for Toronto residents and nearby communities.
The OLG contributes approximately $40 million annually ? 2 percent of its annual slot revenues ? to the provincial government?s programs to fund the treatment, research, prevention and public awareness of problem gambling. The corporation additionally spent $12.9 million in 2011/12 on internal responsible gambling initiatives including staff training and self-exclusion programs. OLG works with other provincial agencies including CAMH to develop staff training, and the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre to conduct research.
The Ernst & Young report goes pretty deep into the details of Toronto?s particular circumstances and the assumptions that are built into the findings, though, and many of them are not transferrable to Ottawa ? it?s not just a matter of scaling down the population. For one thing, Toronto is just much more of a tourist destination, with much stronger international connections:
In our discussions with OLG and Casino Operators, it was noted that several characteristics of Toronto would make the City an attractive location for international high rollers including the lack of taxes levied on gambling wins, the number of direct flights from Asian countries and the local demographics and family connections to Asia. Accordingly, a casino in Toronto is anticipated to be able to capture a sizable portion of the international high roller market, if the casino is configured and promoted appropriately. The consensus view was that Gaming Revenue from international high rollers (and tourists) would be potentially between $250 and $400 million if an integrated Casino Complex is approved.
The report also notes the variety of casino options available to Torontonians now, from Casino Rama to Niagara and Buffalo. They play the same general role for Toronto as the Lac-Leamy casino does for Ottawa, but there are more of them, with more variety, all happily sucking Toronto gamblers in. They figure they?re looking at something like $1 billion from all GTA residents being spent in venues other than the Woodbine racetrack and slots, and they assume a Toronto casino could bring a lot of that money into Toronto itself.
Ottawa, of course, contains nearly all of the population that might be expected to go to an Ottawa casino; Carleton Place and Rockland are not Mississauga and Ajax.
One tidbit that probably is roughly transferrable, though, is that the report concludes that there?s a bunch of money in a casino for the Toronto city government as a casino landlord ? if a casino were built on city-owned land. That?s beyond the hosting fee promised by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. just in exchange for political co-operation. Ernst & Young pegs it at $250 million, depending on the exact circumstances (that?s a one-off payment, not ongoing). The consultants also figure a casino would be worth $27 million a year in property taxes.
An Ottawa casino wouldn?t be as profitable as a Toronto casino, so all those kinds of payment would be smaller here, but the fact that the hosting fee isn?t the only revenue stream is worth remembering.
To sum up, a casino would be great for Toronto, according to consultants, partly because so much money is flowing out to other gambling centres and partly because of all the international tourists who visit Toronto and are looking for a good time.
(Obligatory disclosure: The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation?s chairman is Paul Godfrey, who is also chief executive of Postmedia Network Inc., which owns the Citizen.)
Source: http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2012/10/29/casino-could-be-huge-for-toronto-consultants-report-says/
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