City of Toronto-OLG Municipality Contribution Agreement
Since the introduction of the slots facility at Woodbine Racetrack in 2000, the City has received financial contributions from the Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation (OLG) under a Municipality Contribution Agreement (MCA). OLG Slots at Woodbine Racetrack is the largest of the 14 slot facilities co-located at racetracks in Ontario. The racetrack is owned and operated by the Woodbine Entertainment Group, and as of January 23, 2018 the gaming operations are the responsibility of a private sector service provider selected by OLG. The facility has approximately 700 employees, (full-time and part-time) and hosts approximately 3,000 slot machines.
The City of Toronto entered into an agreement with OLG in 2000 to receive a portion of the revenues from OLG Slots at Woodbine Racetrack.
Under the original agreement, OLG paid the City a share of the slots revenue according to a formula based on the gaming revenue and the number of slot machines at Woodbine.
In 2013 the City entered into a new MCA with OLG that outlined a new formula for host municipalities to receive a portion of gaming revenues from gaming sites in their community. Under the new MCA, the host municipality is entitled to receive from OLG in each Operating Year an amount equal to the sum of A + B, where:
A is the sum of:
- 5.25 per cent on the first $65 million of the annual Electronic Games Revenue, plus
- 3.00 per cent on the next $135 million of the annual Electronic Games Revenue (that is more than $65 million and less than or equal to $200 million), plus
- 2.50 per cent on the next $300 million of the annual Electronic Games Revenue (that is more than $200 million and less than or equal to $500 million), plus
- 0.50 per cent on the annual Electronic Games Revenue that is more than $500 million; and
B is 4.00 per cent of the annual Live Table Games Revenue, if any.
OLG Slots at Woodbine Racetrack is a slot facility and does not have live table games. In 2017, the City received $16.2 million in hosting funds. The revenues the City receives from the facility contribute towards the City’s general revenues that fund various City programs and services. From 2000 to 2017, Woodbine slots generated more than $10.3 billion in gaming revenues and the City received approximately $271 million in hosting funds which have been reinvested in the community.
The following table summarizes the annual revenue the City of Toronto has received from the Woodbine gaming site since its inception:
| Gross Gaming Revenue at Woodbine ($M) |
City’s share of revenues (hosting funds) ($M) |
No. of slots at Woodbine on Dec 31 |
|
| 2000 (1) | 279.2 | 7.9 | 1,700 |
| 2001 | 432.1 | 12.1 | 1,700 |
| 2002 | 512.4 | 14.3 | 1,700 |
| 2003 | 563.3 | 15.7 | 1,700 |
| 2004 | 562.8 | 15.7 | 1,709 |
| 2005 | 524.3 | 14.5 | 1,945 |
| 2006 | 549.8 | 14.8 | 1,947 |
| 2007 | 593.7 | 15.9 | 2,009 |
| 2008 | 626.9 | 16.8 | 2,009 |
| 2009 | 602.8 | 16.1 | 2,061 |
| 2010 | 589.6 | 15.4 | 2,235 |
| 2011 (2) | 590.3 | 15.2 | 2,711 |
| 2012 | 577.5 | 15.1 | 3,001 |
| 2013 (3) | 599.2 | 17.5 | 3,005 |
| 2014 | 617.9 | 15.9 | 3,008 |
| 2015 | 648.5 | 16.2 | 3,009 |
| 2016 | 698.9 | 16.0 | 2,984 |
| 2017 | 748.7 | 16.2 | 2,991 |
| Total | 10,321.3 | 271.2 |
(1) Opened March 27, 2000
(2) OLG changed reporting standard from CGAAP to IFRS effective April 1, 2011. Revenues may not be comparable pre- and post- IFRS implementation.
(3) New municipality contribution agreement effective April 1, 2013 with new funding formula resulted in a one-time increase in the annual revenue for the City.
