Casino slots operations at multiple racetracks in Ontario will shut down next spring as the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s (OLG) Optional Slots at Racetracks Program (OSARP) ends.
OSARP was introduced by Premier Doug Ford’s provincial government in March 2019 as a temporary support system for eligible horse racetracks where slot facilities had previously closed, or where there were plans to relocate the gaming sites. Ontario ended previous slots program at racetracks in 2012, but slots returned to a few locations under OSARP in 2019 and 2020.
Two of those were Hiawatha Horse Park in Sarnia and Kawartha Downs near Peterborough. Since then, Gateway Casinos and Entertainment has operated Gateway Casinos Sarnia at the Hiawatha site near the border with Michigan, while Great Canadian Entertainment runs Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs.
However, OSARP will come to an end on March 31, 2026, and Canadian Gaming Business has learned that OLG there are no plans to keep casino gaming at either site. The sites currently each host 150 slot machines, but operations at the two small casinos will cease on or before that expiry date.
Staff at the respective municipalities were informed by OLG of the official decision to close the venues this week.
“From the outset, OSARP was scheduled to end on March 31, 2026, with the casino leases not being extended and partners made aware during the process,” OLG Director of Media Relations Tony Bitonti told CGB. “We will work closely with our casino service providers and property owners to ensure the decommissioning process for these sites is as smooth as possible.”
Both operators run larger nearby casinos
Gateway and Great Canadian each host larger permanent, non-OSARP casino venues close to the respective slots locations that are closing. Gateway runs Starlight Casino Point Edward and Great Canadian operates Shorelines Casino Peterborough.
Gateway Director of Communications and Public Affairs Rob Mitchell told CGB that it was not directly involved in the decision to shut down the slots for good and will help staff navigate the change over the coming months.
The Sarnia location is the only OSARP venue Gateway runs, so the multi-provincial casino operator’s other locations will not be affected. “Gateway remains committed to growth in the Ontario market,” Mitchell added.
“We have had the opportunity to operate Shorelines Slots at Kawartha Downs for 10 years, and during that time, it has been an important part of the eastern Ontario gaming marketplace,” Great Canadian EVP of External Relations and Business Development Chuck Keeling told CGB in a separate statement. “While we work through next steps with OLG and other key stakeholders, our immediate focus will be supporting our impacted team members and guests.”
Sarnia Mayor asks Ontario Premier to intervene
Sarnia staff including Mayor Mike Bradley were formally notified of the decision by OLG on Sept 29. He is disappointed in the decision, particularly as he feels no reasoning was provided beyond the expiry of the OSARP lease.
In an email seen by Canadian Gaming Business, Bradley implored Ford to step in. “No rationale for the closure,” Bradley wrote. “Losing over 100 jobs plus at this difficult time in the local, Ontario and Canadian economy while we struggle [with] the impacts with the U.S. tariff war is unacceptable from a government agency who give no rationale. My ask is simple: can you ask OLG to release the business case for the closure?”
Estimates provided by local media suggest the Sarnia closure could result in the loss of between 60 and 100 jobs and the Kawartha shutdown could eliminate up to two-dozen positions.
OLG data shows that slots at Gateway Casino Sarnia netted the city $103,700 in the quarter ended June 30, 2025, while the Cavan Monaghan township where Shorelines Slots is based reaped almost $70,000. The two sites have each raised tens of millions of dollars of revenue for the local communities across the entirity of their respective lifespans.
CGB understands that OLG will continue to pay the two municipalities for hosting slot machines through the end of the 2026-27 fiscal year on the same financial terms it is paying them for 2025-26.
