Multiple Ontario racetracks will be able to continue offering casino slots on site after all as Ontario Lottery and Gaming has made the decision to extend its Optional Slots at Racetracks Program (OSARP).
OSARP is a temporary support system that was implemented for certain eligible horse racetracks where slot facilities had previously closed or where there were plans to relocate gaming sites. The program was due to end on March 31, 2026, meaning that Hiawatha Horse Park in Sarnia and Kawartha Downs near Peterborough stood to lose the revenue generated by the approximately 150 slot machines at Gateway Casinos Sarnia and Great Canadian Entertainment’s Shorelines Slots at the respective sites.
However, OLG Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs Michelle Eaton sent letters to Sarnia and the township of Cavan Monaghan to explain that it will now extend the program for an undisclosed length of time.
“OLG will be engaging in confidential discussions with both the casino service provider (the ‘Service Provider’) regarding an extension to their gaming operating agreement, as well as with the racetrack property owner (the ‘Landlord’) about a lease extension for the casino,” wrote Eaton in the letters. “We will continue to keep you informed on decisions that may impact the City, including the outcome of discussions with the Service Provider and Landlord.”
No timeline for length of reprieve
The OLG’s communication also confirmed that the City of Sarnia and the Township of Cavan Monaghan will each continue to receive payments under the Municipality Contribution Agreement for as long as the casino remains operational.
“OLG is working closely with industry partners to support Ontario’s horse racing industry,” a spokesperson for the crown corporation told Canadian Gaming Business in an additional statement. “As part of this work, we are extending the Optional Slots at Racetracks Program, which will keep the Slots at Kawartha Downs open beyond March 31, 2026. This means the Township of Cavan Monaghan will continue to receive Municipality Contribution Payments as a casino-host municipality.
“OLG will continue to collaborate with casino service providers regarding extensions to their operating agreements, as well as with racetrack property owners regarding lease extensions for the casinos.”
No further timeline was given, but once OLG has concluded discussions with relevant stakeholders, more details will be available about the terms of the extension.
Closure plans caused consternation
In late September, OLG told Canadian Gaming Business that OSARP was always scheduled to end on March 31, 2026, and that partners had been made aware during the process that the casino leases would not be extended.
Spokespeople for the Hiawatha casino’s operator, Gateway Casinos and Entertainment, and Shorelines Slots at Kawartha operator Great Canadian Entertainment each told Canadian Gaming Business at that time that it would work with staff to ease the impacts of the planned closures. Gateway and Great Canadian each host larger permanent casinos close to the respective small-scale OSARP slots locations.
Staff and public officials in both communities pushed back hard against the intention to close the slots, citing the impending loss of dozens of jobs and significant revenues. Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley wrote to Ontario Premier Doug Ford to ask him to step in and at least ask OLG to provide the business case for the closure.
It is not clear whether the public response to the plans to shutter the slots had any bearing on OLG’s change of plans, or whether the provincial government intervened.
Better news than BC
The reversal is good news for Ontario’s horse racing industry, in stark contrast to what is happening in British Columbia.
B.C.’s last operational horse racetrack, Hastings Racecourse, announced earlier in December it was shutting down racing effective immediately after the provincial government announced it would no longer dedicate a portion of slot machine revenue from the adjacent Great Canadian Entertainment-operated casino to the track.
The race track at Hastings has been in operation for more than 130 years, but closed after B.C. Solicitor General and Minister of Public Safety Nina Krieger wrote that a government review found that continuing to fund horse racing in the province was not sustainable.
