Niagara Falls Predicts New Toronto Casino Will Impact Tourism – Casino Reports

The announcement of a new CA$1 billion Las Vegas-style casino in Toronto, Ontario has alerted Niagara Falls about the impact on its operations. The new casino resort is scheduled to open in the summer of 2023, but Niagara Falls officials expect the property as a major tourist attraction in the province will impact foot traffic and finances.

Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s new venture was just announced and will be officially called the Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto. As the name suggests, the resort is operated by Great Canadian Entertainment. In addition to a lavish arcade, there will also be a massive hotel, fine dining restaurants, an events venue and a park.

Possible disadvantages

The city’s CAO, Jason Burgess, said specific numbers related to a potential drop are difficult to predict, but believes the drop will affect the city’s goal of reaching more than 14 million visitors a year. He’s confident Reach 14 or 15 million visitorsHowever, the city’s figures could also be impacted by the provincial introduction of online gambling.

Prior to the unprecedented situation in 2020, the city was raising approximately $20 million per year in contributions from OLG to host the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara. For this year, however, it was forecast that the city will only manage that only make 60% of that money as land-based casinos are still recovering from the closures of the past three years.

Mayor Jim Diodati announced that a large number of guests at the two Niagara Falls casinos are from the greater Toronto area. And once the new Toronto begins operations, it’s expected to have a significant impact on Niagara Falls. City officials are saying this too 40% of visitors who come to Niagara Falls in the summer season are Ontarians.

Mayor Diodati also noted that the province should not cut the cake into smaller portions and grow instead. He also noted that OLG’s model is not optimal as third-party companies currently operate casinos in the province. In his words, this means that companies will not be willing to invest heavily in the properties because they do not own them.

City Tourism CEO and President Janice Thomson said the 5,000-seat live entertainment venue, unique businesses and the city are an attraction for visitors. She added that casinos are too a big attraction for visitors. Meanwhile, casino spokespeople made no direct comment on Toronto’s new casino, but said the company is committed to tourism in the city.

Betting options improvement

It should be noted that in Fall 2022 both Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara have started offering personal sports betting on their premises. However, this was possible after the sports betting technology was up provided from the Kambi group. The operator Mohegan Gaming Entertainment announced a partnership with the provider in September 2022.

Source: Mitchell, Don “Niagara Falls expects visitor and financial implications from opening of ‘Vegas-style’ casino in Toronto” Global NewsMarch 15, 2023