Ontario Launches Procurement to Add Three Niagara Casino Operators

Ontario's government, working with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, has launched the first phase of a procurement process designed to bring new land-based casino operators into the Niagara Region, according to Casino.org News.

The Call for Investment, issued on 28 October, targets more than CA$3bn (US$2.1bn) in direct gaming investment, alongside a further CA$600m (US$429m) in related private sector spending, spread across the province's Destination Niagara Strategy over the next two decades.

Ontario expects the gaming expansion alone to generate upwards of 10,000 construction jobs.

The wider Destination Niagara Strategy sets a target of doubling annual visitor numbers to the region to more than 25 million, while contributing CA$3bn a year to provincial GDP and creating 46,500 permanent jobs.

Zee Hamid, Ontario's Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, said the region has enormous potential for growth and that the strategy is opening fresh avenues for investment, employment and a stronger tourism economy locally. He said the fresh gaming investment would give the area new attractions for visitors, while supporting well-paid jobs and Niagara's ambitions as a year-round destination.

Each new operator admitted under the process must commit a minimum investment of CA$1.5bn (US$1.073bn) and pay an entrance fee of CA$100m (US$71m). Ontario will apply a 9.75% gaming tax rate to Niagara operators under the arrangement, which the province describes as a new framework intended to reduce the burden on operators while focusing expansion on top-tier, world-class operators and maintaining safeguards for the public interest.

Prospective operators have until 3 December 2026 to respond to this first phase through the MERX procurement platform. Applicants that make the shortlist will then move on to a second stage, putting forward full proposals for combined casino and resort projects.

The new marketplace will initially admit a maximum of three additional casino operators. Further expansion could follow after a fixed 10-year term, contingent on market conditions and the performance of operators already in place, the province said.

The procurement follows an agreement reached in August between OLG and MGE Niagara Entertainment Inc., the Mohegan-controlled operator of Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara, to suspend MGE's exclusivity rights over the Niagara land-based market. That move cleared the way for additional operators to be brought in.

Under Ontario's regulatory model, private-sector companies manage day-to-day land-based casino operations through agreements with OLG, which retains overall responsibility for conducting and managing gaming in the province.

OLG president and chief executive Duncan Hannay said the corporation values the chance to work alongside its partners and the provincial government toward making Niagara stand out among Canada's leading visitor destinations. He added that enhancing the gaming experience and supporting new investment in hotels, entertainment venues and dining will help create lasting economic benefits while building on what Fallsview and Casino Niagara already offer visitors.