by DAVE PINK
A provincial government plan to end its partnership with Ontario’s horse racing tracks could cost the province $1 billion a year and put 60,000 full-and part-time jobs in jeopardy, says the president of the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association.
“We think the government is making a very serious error,” said Sue Leslie, reacting to news Monday that Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) has been directed to modernize the province’s gaming industry, a change that would leave the horse tracks – the current home to many of the province’s slot-machine operations -- out in the cold.
“Now what we have to do is educate the public and the MPPs,” she said. “Economically, this makes no sense to us.”
And the move could put Ontario horse racing out of business. “I’m thinking this might mean total devastation of the horse-racing industry,” said Leslie. “I just don’t know if the racing industry can survive.”
Under an arrangement set in 1998, when the slot machines started moving into the tracks, a deal was struck that allowed the province to receive 75 per cent of the profits — or about $1 billion a year -- while 20 per cent went to the track and the remaining five per cent went to the host municipality.
OLG was directed on Monday to initiate a massive redirection of the province’s gambling industry aimed at increasing the number of slot machine facilities in new, “strategic” locations and increasing the sale of lottery tickets, among other plans. A report from OLG contends the moves will increase revenues by $1 billion yearly, and create 2,300 jobs in the gaming industry and another 4,000 jobs in the hospitality and retail sectors by 2018.
But Leslie isn’t buying it.
She doubts the province will ever get a better deal than it has from the tracks because no private operator of any slot machine facility would be willing to settle for a mere 20 per cent of the take. “The government is going to have to take a hard look at this now,” said Leslie.
There are 17 horse tracks throughout Ontario – some privately owned, while others are non-profit organizations. Leslie said the racing industry was healthy up until the time when the province initiated lotteries and opened the door to slot machine and casino gambling, giving the public more places to spend their betting dollars.
Leslie said that in 2010 Ontario’s horse tracks paid $382 million in taxes to the federal government, $261 million to the province and $138 million to the municipalities. “On the basis of value for the money, they won’t find a better deal.” BF
Comments
Insofar as horse racing is, at best, entertainment, why should tax revenues be diverted from health care and education, into subsidizing a facet of the entertainment industry? For example, there's not a lot of sympathy, or support, for horse racing in the medical community, especially here, in the central part of Huron County. The McGuinty government seemed to have no end of money to build our "Taj Mahal" REACH (Regional Equine Agricultural Centre - Huron) Centre at the north end of Clinton, but not enough money to fund long-overdue projects at our local hospital. Many, including myself, would argue that diverting the money from subsidizing the local horse racing venues, into our local hospitals, would be, in fact, the "better deal" for us all. Stephen Thompson, Clinton, ON
You just don't get it.The money made from horse racing pays for your hospital.and you now that spending money on education.is just giving teachers a raise under the McGuinty government
It's money from casino gambling which, at present, supports both the horse racing industry and local hospitals - the point is that more money could be used to support hospitals and schools if less of the profits from casino gambling went to subsidize the horse racing industry. Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
Stephen, you are way off...you kill the horse racing industry, you lose the 221 million dollars in tax revenues it give.....then you increase the expenditures towards all the newly unemployed. it all adds up to a hell of a lot more then the 345 million that the horse racing industry gets from its shares from the slots agreement. You can't kill a 2 billion dollar industry and expect to get more revenues to the province. Think again! hay farmers, feed stores, tack shops, blacksmiths and farm accountants (like yourself) all have a stake at keeping the slots agreement....because with no racing, they also lose!
Firstly, you haven't considered that the $345 million the horse racing industry gets from gambling revenues, could easily be put to far-better use, for all concerned, by putting it towards creating (or preserving) jobs in our local hospitals, and jobs in road-building and other infrastructure projects - thereby having the potential to quite-easily generate far-more than several times the 221 million dollars in tax revenues purportedly generated by the horse racing industry. One of the first principles of managerial accounting is to look beyond what might be lost, and look, instead, to what will be gained - and, I suggest, this is exactly what government has done, and rightly so. Secondly, you haven't considered that the horse racing industry is, at best, an entertainment industry, and, therefore, subject to the same set of public funding criteria imposed on every other facet of the entertainment industry. For example, I've heard your exact "too much to lose" argument coming from proponents of local theatre - yet the local horse racing industry gets everything, everybody else gets nothing. Thirdly, you obviously don't understand horse people - even with an extra $345 million in revenue, too many of them are still deadbeats when it comes to paying hay farners, feed stores, tack shops, blacksmiths and accountants. This is precisely why I got out of the hay business, and now more than ever, I'm glad I did. Stephen Thompson, Clinton, ON
I,m all for the money from horse racing going to hospitals and education,as long as the money goes to improve health care and education. The money should not go to fatten the pockets of ceo,s ,teachers, doctors and workers that gets plenty now. Some horse owners say that the racing industry doesn,t get any money from the goverments.
subsidy for race tracks is no way to go to improve the racing industry in Ontario.
superficially it appears that the 871 million..almost a billion dollars..given so far has been a cash grab for the industry..which apart from the WEG facility has put back little in terms of improvement for racing.
at some tracks..Flamborough for eg., ...management would not even clean the toilets regularly in the betting areas. and they force you to buy food from the fly infested cafeteria.
I am all with the provincial government on this one.
racing is a business. it must get its product up to speed and competitive.
the betting take-outs for example are far too high. even with a billion dollars from the slots, the tracks could not see their way clear to reduce that onerous imposition on those who bet.
and on the WEG for example... with the harness racing..the show bet is taken out the show bet when there are prohibitive favorites in a race..which is quite unreasonable.
let horse racing fight for its life like everything else. the industry has grown fat on free casino money. its great that is now taken away and put to better use hopefully
and the farming/veterinary parts of the business I am sure will get all sots of tax breast as a provincial industry employing lots of people
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