OLG says slot cap for Rocksino was dropped by city council
Promises over a gambling cap are falling like a house of cards, but city council might have agreed to allow more slot machines at the Ottawa casino without even realizing it.
The Hard Rock and Rideau Carleton Raceway partnership revealed this week it intends to add 750 slot machines to the existing 1,250 machines already in the casino at the Albion Road facility.
It would appear to be the death of a commitment made by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) in 2013 to respect a council resolution on the maximum number of games in the Ottawa casino.
But OLG spokesman Tony Bitonti said that any commitment on the number of slots ended, in the OLG’s view, at a city council meeting on Sept. 13 when municipal politicians voted 19-4 to reassert the raceway as the city’s gaming site as part of a provincial regulation.
Council and the public were told the “technical requirements” let Hard Rock take over day-to-day gaming operations. There was no mention of increasing the number of slot machines. At its Sept. 13 meeting, city staff told council it was simply a “reaffirmation” of past decisions.
The council-endorsed cap of 21 table games broke last fall when the committee of adjustment approved Hard Rock’s request to add another 14 table games. The second phase of the facility’s expansion, potentially starting in early 2019, would add another 20 table games if council approves a zoning amendment for the property.
The addition of 750 slot machines would also happen in the second phase, but Hard Rock doesn’t need the city’s permission because the number of slots isn’t part of the property’s zoning. John Smit, the city’s director of economic development, said the OLG determines the number of slots.
In October 2013, before signing a new contribution agreement with the OLG during the agency’s “modernization” exercise, council wanted city management to get assurances from the gaming agency that it would respect council’s position on the maximum number of slots and table games.
“For Ottawa, this means that private sector service providers will be required to follow the decision of council, articulated in the resolution of Aug. 28, 2013, to limit gaming offerings at Rideau Carleton Raceway to 1,250 slots and 21 live table games,” wrote Jack Pastore, the director of municipal and community relations for OLG, in a letter sent to then-city manager Kent Kirkpatrick.
The city government will get some big paydays if there are more gambling options at the Hard Rock casino.
According to the Hard Rock Ottawa partnership, the city is poised to make $12.8 million annually off its cut of gaming revenue once all three expansion phases are finished after 2023. The expansion proposal includes a concert theatre and 200-room hotel at the entertainment centre.
The City of Ottawa’s 2018 budget predicts $5.6 million will come in thanks to the contribution agreement with the OLG. More blackjack tables and slot machines could be a boon for the city if Hard Rock’s projections hold true.
However, it could come with a price, as some councillors point out each time the casino comes up at city hall.
Coun. Keith Egli said he accepts that there’s casino gambling in Ottawa but he wants to make sure there are health protections against fuelling gambling addictions. Hearing that Hard Rock has been speaking with Ottawa Public Health gave him encouragement this week.
But news that Hard Rock would add 750 more slots confused Egli, since the OLG committed to the 1,250 cap.
“I think an explanation would be nice,” Egli said Friday.
Coun. Mark Taylor, a member of the board of health, said the number of games doesn’t bother him as much as the impact gambling has on addictions.