Auditor Criticizes OLG’s Choice Against Niagara Casino Operator

Last week, Ontario Inspector General Bonnie Lisaik released her annual report, which rocked the region’s gambling industry. 바카라사이트 Her report claims that in 2019, Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation awarded the keys to Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara to current Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment despite better bids from other applicants.

In the report Value Audit for Money: Ontario Lottery and Games: Casinos, Lottery and Internet Games, Lisick noted that two other bidders, Hard Rock and Caesars Entertainment, offered better terms and would have offered much higher direct capital investment. However, OLG chose Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment.

According to the report, OLG selected MGE based primarily on criteria that focused on having operators that deliver the best cash flow value through guaranteed minimum commitments and revenue share to Crown for the first 10 years. OLG explained that the city of Niagara Falls would benefit from the bidding because of MGE’s view of boosting economic development and maximizing profits.

But Lysyk said the city was not involved in the selection process. Representatives from MGE and Niagara Casino declined to comment on the issue. Meanwhile, OLG’s Tony Bitonti argued that the Niagara region benefits from having a global casino operator against MGE, which evaluated the market potential at the time and set realistic prospects.

Mr Beatonty went on to say the BAI was comparing MGE’s outlook to an outdated business case that failed to reflect significant game expansion from the GTA. Since becoming the operator of two Niagara Falls casinos, the gaming company has invested more than CA$32 million to upgrade its properties, OLG said in a statement.

In her report, the inspector general also wrote that she organized sting operations to investigate anti-money laundering protocols at four Ontario casinos. Mr. Lysaik did not provide the name of the property, but said one of them correctly identified the deceptive activity and refused the sponsor’s request for a check. It even issued an unauthorized intrusion order, which banned the customer from all game sites run by the company.

Her report ends here, and she also looked at slot machine salaries, which require a return of 85% of wages as a prize for the lifetime of each machine. Neither OLG nor Ontario’s Alcohol and Gaming Commission monitors salaries, she claims, and has been delegated to report problems to casino operators instead.

Earlier this year, Mr. Recike also reviewed Ontario’s new iGaming market for third-party operators. In her report, the Board of Audit and Inspection says the new regime will bring about CA$75 million in revenue from state reserves for the first three years of operation. In addition, a small portion of the iGaming revenue is expected to be sales tax.

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