Although there is a new agreement in place between Centre Wellington and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj said there is relatively little impact to the municipality.
On Aug. 12 council passed a bylaw authorizing the mayor and clerk to execute an amended and restated municipality contribution agreement.
Last October, council passed a bylaw executing a new municipal contribution agreement with the OLG.
In May, Ontario Minister of Finance Charles Sousa announced a new agreement was being developed to reflect a fair and equitable approach for all municipalities.
Part of the agreement looked at a percentage of live table revenues, if any, and a sliding scale for the township share of slot revenue.
Councillor Steven VanLeeuwen said he remained opposed to gambling in Centre Wellington, but he asked for clarification because the new agreement included revenues from live tables – something not currently offered at the Grand River Raceway in Elora.
Ross-Zuj said the new agreement is identical for OLG operations across the province – whether or not live table gambling exists or not.
VanLeeuwen wanted to be clear that in accepting the new agreement, the township was not endorsing live gambling in the municipality.
Ross-Zuj said if that aspect was included in the OLG package for Grand River Raceway “then it would be.”
But today, it is not, she said. She stressed the agreement has nothing to do with what is offered at the raceway, but how revenues are distributed. She said, the percentages had not changed considerably (overall, she estimated the difference would be about $5,000).
CAO Andie Goldie pointed out that a change in what was being offered at the raceway would likely require a zoning change to allow the additional use. He also noted the OLG is still gathering proposals and it is unknown what would be offered at those locations or whether the facility will remain in Centre Wellington.
