The Ontario government has decided to invest $400 million in an expansion project for the Casino Windsor, which is coming under pressure from increasing competition from the Detroit area of the United States. Around 80% of the casino’s patrons come from the United States at present but this number is expected to decline unless the Casino Windsor is upgraded. Critically, the casino is one of the top three employers in the region, providing some 4,300 people with jobs.

The Ontario government is hoping that their investment will strengthen the local economy, which is driven by the six million annual visitors to the casino. The upgrade will include a new hotel, an entertainment complex and a conference centre. It is expected that an additional 400 permanent jobs will be created, apart from the initial construction work. Completion of the proposed expansion should be in 2007. Last month the government announced plans to make the existing casinos in Ontario more competitive and to halt the authorisation of new casinos, but says it recognizes that strategic investment is crucial to safeguard jobs.

Next month will see the Canadian Gaming Summit over 7-9 March in Ontario’s Niagara Falls, with all the latest gaming products and services for the gaming industry on show. One of the exhibitors will be the Austrian company, Atronic, which has announced a new direct sales and service focus for the Canadian market. Atronic has been active in Canada since 1996, mostly through distribution, but will now be able to provide superior service and support to its Canadian customers through offices in Calgary and Niagara Falls.

At the Gaming Summit Duncan Brown, CEO of the government agency the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLGC) will present a recently completed review of the Ontario gaming market. The OLGC runs four commercial casinos, six charity casinos and slots operations at sixteen racetracks. The 40,000 sq ft of exhibition floor will have stands for most of the giants of the gaming industry and represent the best of the new technologies available for products and services. (E-02.15.05)

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