New online gambling rules will cost Milton money and jobs, report claims
Published February 7, 2022 at 12:29 pm
Funding for Halton Healthcare Milton District Hospital, the Town’s Sports Hall of Fame, the Country Heritage Agricultural Society and more will all be at risk should Ontario move forward with its proposed iGaming regulations, according to a new report.
This is because a portion of their funding comes from the Milton Community Fund program, which was created to allot money received from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG)’s Mohawk location. As a result, the proposed iGaming regulations could jeopardize this funding, the report says.
The Milton Community Fund also funds 7th Milton Scouts, Arts Milton, Milton Bowling Club, Milton Film Festival, Milton Marlin Swim Team, Milton Minor Hockey Association, Milton Skating Club, Milton Special Olympics and more.
Last year, the Government of Ontario announced the establishment of iGaming Ontario, a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), that aimed to advance the province’s plans to create an internet gambling (iGaming) market. They also announced that iGaming Ontario would begin entering into commercial agreements with iGaming operators.
The report by HLT Advisory (HLT), a business management firm, analyzed the proposed iGaming regulations on land-based casinos and their potential impacts on union jobs across the Province of Ontario. It projected that these current regulations could cost the province millions of dollars in contributions to municipalities and billions of dollars to provincial revenues.
In total, HLT’s report predicts that current regulations could cost the province a total of 2,500 paying union jobs, 143 of which would be lost for the Town of Milton.
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HLT’s report also predicted that Milton could lose a total of $11.3 million in municipal payments over the course of five years as a result.
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