The City of Windsor is expected to see a sharp increase in the money it receives for hosting Caesars Windsor under a new funding formula based on the casino’s revenue.
The city used to receive a flat annual payment of $3 million and has already received almost that much — $2.96 million — in the first quarterly payment from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, OLG spokesman Tony Bitonti said Thursday.
“They could get up to $8.9 million,” Bitonti said of the estimated annual payment to Windsor.
“Now, instead of getting a flat fee, they are getting money that is tied to gaming revenue. So if the facility makes money they will make some money as well,” Bitonti said.
The quarterly payment covers April to June.
Mayor Eddie Francis raised the issue with Premier Kathleen Wynne and the OLG when it appeared Toronto would be getting a better deal to host a casino. He credited Wynne with stepping in to make sure all municipalities are treated fairly.
“I think it’s a more favourable deal,” Francis said Thursday afternoon.
The city used to receive $4.8 million a year, including money for policing, Francis said. Now that the formula is based on revenue he thinks the city could receive $7 million to $8.5 million a year.
The first payment received last week was actually about $1.8 million because of money the city had already received from the OLG, Francis said.
It is the first time Windsor and Niagara, which received $6.4 million for the first quarter, are receiving money based on slot and table game revenue.
All casinos and slots in Ontario are under a new formula where hosting municipalities will receive 5.25 per cent on the first $65 million of slot revenue, three per cent on the next $135 million of slot revenue, 2.5 per cent on the next $300 million of slot revenue and 0.5 per cent on any slot revenue above $500 million. And, for the first time, municipalities can receive four per cent of table game revenue.
Bitonti said that in the 2011-2012 fiscal year Caesars Windsor had gross gaming revenue of $227.5 million but that is before paying expenses such as salaries. That was down from $238 million in 2010-11. He said he didn’t have figures from the first quarter of this fiscal year.
Francis said the money will go into a reserve fund to help the city deal with commercial and industrial property tax assessments, including the casino’s, that have dropped.
