The slots at Sarnia's Hiawatha Horse Park will close next spring.
Mayor Mike Bradley was notified of the decision, after being copied on an email to CAO Chris Carter outlining the future of Gateway Casinos Sarnia from Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Michelle Eaton.
"As you may recall, the Optional Slots at Racetracks Program (OSARP) was launched by OLG in 2019 as a temporary measure to assist eligible racetracks where co-located slot facilities had previously closed or where there were plans to relocate a gaming site. OSARP is set to end on March 31, 2026," Eaton wrote.
"As part of the program, casino gaming returned to Hiawatha Horse Park and a five-year lease agreement was reached for Gateway Casino Sarnia at the racetrack. With OSARP ending as noted above, I am writing to formally notify you that the lease agreement for Gateway Casino Sarnia will terminate on March 31, 2026, and will not be extended. This means that casino operations will cease, and the casino will close on or before March 31, 2026, with a specific closure date to be confirmed with the casino service provider in due course," she added.
Mayor Bradley told Sarnia News Today he's shocked.
"It's disappointing," Bradley said. "They closed the slots here in 2012, and we fought that and a number of years later -- thanks to Premier [Doug] Ford -- they were reopened, [on a] much lesser scale [because] the market had changed."
Bradley said there has been no explanation.
"I've been talking regularly to Jim Henderson, the owner of the track, and he was trying to get another deal, another extension, and they weren't cooperating," he said. "What I'm asking the premier, who did intervene in 2018 to resurrect these slots at the racetrack is, can you ask OLG to make the business case to him and to us why they're closing."
Mayor Bradley understands the business hasn't been shielded from external factors.
"Online gambling has had a huge impact on all of the casinos across the province and across the country. We know they have their own competition in this market. But, please explain it to us," he said.
Bradley said this is the last thing the city needs right now.
"We're dealing with some of the uncertainty that's happening with Imperial Oil, we've got the tariff issue from Trump and we don't need the government taking away 60 to 100 jobs," Bradley said.
The 53,000 square foot facility features 150 slots on a gaming floor of about 22,000 square feet.
"The city was receiving $100,000 per quarter, which was our five per cent of the revenue. So, that indicates how much revenue was coming in. But, we don't know their economics, they don't disclose to us... and they should be disclosing why [they're] closing. What were the factors? It can't really be cross border traffic, because that's not an issue. What I really don't understand is why they would do this. What happened? They owe the community an explanation," Bradley said.
There was an official opening ceremony to mark the slots' return in January, 2020.
While not obligated, the OLG said it will provide the city with one additional year of funding through the Municipality Contribution Agreement to assist with the transition.
