Casino Woodbine is one of the largest gaming facilities in Ontario. Since the introduction of the casino at Woodbine Racetrack in 2000, the City has received financial contributions from the Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation (OLG) under a Municipality Contribution Agreement (MCA).
The racetrack is owned and operated by the Woodbine Entertainment Group, and as of January 23, 2018, the gaming operations are the responsibility of One Toronto Gaming, a private sector service provider selected by OLG. The facility has approximately 950 employees (full-time and part-time) and hosts approximately 3,400 slot machines and over 100 live-dealer table games.
In 2018, the City signed a community benefits agreement (CBA) with One Toronto Gaming, which operates Casino Woodbine in the Rexdale area of Toronto. Additional information about the Rexdale – Casino Woodbine community benefits agreement (CBA), including progress on meeting targets and requirements to be achieved, is available on the Community Benefits Agreement: Rexdale – Casino Woodbine page.
The City of Toronto entered into an agreement with OLG in 2000 to receive a portion of the revenues from the facility which was then called 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:
B is 4.00 per cent of the annual Live Table Games Revenue, if any.
In 2021, the City received $12.6 million in hosting funds. The revenues the City receives from Casino Woodbine contribute towards implementation of the Rexdale – Casino Woodbine Community Benefits Agreement and also benefit the City’s general revenues that fund various City programs and services. From 2000 to 2021, Woodbine has generated more than $12.1 billion in gaming revenues and the City received approximately $332.8 million in hosting funds which have been reinvested in the community.
The following table summarizes the annual revenue the City of Toronto has received from the Woodbine gaming site since its inception:
| Gross Gaming Revenue at Woodbine ($M) |
City’s share of revenues (hosting funds) ($M) |
No. of slots at Woodbine on Dec 31 |
No. of live-dealer table games at Woodbine on Dec 31 | |
| 2000 (1) | 279.2 | 7.9 | 1,700 | N/A |
| 2001 | 432.1 | 12.1 | 1,700 | N/A |
| 2002 | 512.4 | 14.3 | 1,700 | N/A |
| 2003 | 563.3 | 15.7 | 1,700 | N/A |
| 2004 | 562.8 | 15.7 | 1,709 | N/A |
| 2005 | 524.3 | 14.5 | 1,945 | N/A |
| 2006 | 549.8 | 14.8 | 1,947 | N/A |
| 2007 | 593.7 | 15.9 | 2,009 | N/A |
| 2008 | 626.9 | 16.8 | 2,009 | N/A |
| 2009 | 602.8 | 16.1 | 2,061 | N/A |
| 2010 | 589.6 | 15.4 | 2,235 | N/A |
| 2011 (2) | 590.3 | 15.2 | 2,711 | N/A |
| 2012 | 577.5 | 15.1 | 3,001 | N/A |
| 2013 (3) | 599.2 | 17.5 | 3,005 | N/A |
| 2014 | 617.9 | 15.9 | 3,008 | N/A |
| 2015 | 648.5 | 16.2 | 3,009 | N/A |
| 2016 | 698.9 | 16.0 | 2,984 | N/A |
| 2017 | 748.7 | 16.2 | 2,991 | N/A |
| 2018 (4) | 853.2 | 19.2 | 3,669 | 96 |
| 2019 | 968.6 (5) | 26.7 | 3,456 | 110 |
| 2020 (6) | 102.9 (5) | 3.1 | 3,332 | 116 |
| 2021 (7) | 448.6 (5) | 12.6 | 3,332 | 116 |
| Total | 12,142.1 | 332.8 |
(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.
(4) Live-dealer table games were introduced in 2018. In April 2018, Toronto City Council supported expanded gaming at Woodbine Racetrack by adopting the Rexdale – Casino Woodbine Community Benefits Agreement (EX33.2), which outlines specific requirements for the developer to achieve several social and economic outcomes.
(5) Estimated. Gross gaming revenue is not publically released by Ontario Lottery and Gaming as of 2019 due to commercial confidentiality.
(6) Revenues for January 1 – March 31, 2020 only. No revenue payments in remainder of 2020 as a result of Casino Woodbine closures due to government-mandated suspension of operations to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
(7) Revenues for July 1-December 31, 2021 only. No revenue payments in Q1 or Q2 2021 (January-June) as a result of Casino Woodbine closures due to government-mandated suspension of operations to reduce the spread of COVID-19.