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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO 11-11 City oo Report to Executive Committee PICKERING Report Number: CAO 11-11 2 3 Date: June 13, 2011 From: Debbie Shields City Clerk Subject: Bingo Licensing - Charitable Bingo and Gaming Revitalization Initiative Recommendation: 1. That the City of Pickering enter into a contract with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLGC) for electronic bingo and gaming in order to work with the OLGC, the Charity Organizations and Delta Bingo in a "Bingo Revitalization Program"; and 2. That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to take the necessary action to give effect thereto. Executive Summary: The City of Pickering has been approached by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and bingo industry partners to enter into a contract with the OLGC in order to initiate a program being developed to revitalize charitable bingo in the Province of Ontario. This is a multi-year program that will have significant impact in sustaining and growing charitable revenue to support the local funding model. The whole initiative is built on incremental and gradual transition of the gaming experience and a key element of this is new or refreshed products. Through the transformation, the focus- is on the key business driver - the customers, with the key beneficiaries being the charities. The program will preserve and enhance charitable bingo revenue for local charities by providing a lineup of new electronic and paper games in bingo halls across Ontario. The initiative is intended to offer players an interactive environment, more choice of electronic and paper-based games and enhanced customer service. Bingo halls will transform to charitable gaming centres over a period of time in an effort to attract new players and provide an exciting entertainment experience. Financial Implications: Currently, the City of Pickering issues bingo licences to various charities to conduct bingo events. The City receives $60.00 per event in licence fees. Annual licensing revenue for the City is approximately $105,000.00. Under the new revitalization initiative, the City could possibly see revenue increases if revitalization efforts succeed. Report CAO 11-11 June 13, 2011 Subject: Bingo Licensing Charitable Bingo and Gamin Revitalization Initiative Page 2 L4 Sustainability Implications: No sustainability implications. Background: As previously noted in past reports to Council, the bingo industry has felt a consistent decline in bingo halls and the attendance of bingo players. Statistics show an annual decline of approximately 8% to 10% annually is being seen in the Bingo Industry. Over the past 5 years, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the bingo industry, charities/non-profit organizations and municipalities have been reviewing the bingo industry and restructuring the game of bingo in order to mitigate the decline in attendance and bingo dollars. At this time, all bingo events are managed and conducted by charities and non-profit organizations. and money raised is used to support their various programs and services in the community. There is a limited amount of money available from consumers of entertainment products and services, and competition for those dollars is strong. The OLGC and the Bingo Industry believe that in order for bingo to remain viable, changes are necessary that will pave the way for new players. Over the last five years, the new program has had pilot sites operating across Ontario, including; Barrie, Kingston, Peterborough, Sudbury and Windsor. These pilot sites have had positive feedback from all of the partners involved. The program has been created as a way to protect the revenues generated through bingo lottery events and also to create a modernized electronic option to attract younger bingo players but also keeping the traditional paper game. This new initiative is built on the lessons learned from these pilots and new product consistent with charitable gaming will be added on an ongoing basis. The way the program works is a collaborative effort by the OLGC, the municipality, the charity associations and the bingo halls. The OLGC retains Conduct and Management responsibilities through contracts with commercial. operators, charities and municipalities. The Commercial Operators manage all day to day operations which include facility operations, games finances, advertising and promotion. With Commercial Operators managing the day to day operations, there will be a need to hire people in order to do the jobs that the charities previously did. Charities relinquish conduct and management but, gain opportunities to promote their organization and support customer service. The Charities will have a meaningful support role in the Gaming Centre in return for direct funding (status quo), but will not have to put so much time and volunteer hours into each event. The municipalities maintain their existing role and revenue and focus on managing eligibility and use of proceeds. Under the new model, permits will be issued instead of licences by the municipality and the permit fees will be processed through OLGC and paid to the municipality on a quarterly basis instead of the fees coming from the CORP0227-07/01 revised giro Report CAO 11-11 June 13, 2011 Subject: Bingo Licensing 225 Charitable Bingo and Gamin Revitalization Initiative Page 3 charities. Revenue from bingo events will not decrease under the new program unless, the game of bingo continues to decline. If the new revitalization program is a success, the City should see an increase in bingo revenue and a decrease in administrative processing time. Under the new bingo revitalization program, the bingo industry stakeholders hope to provide a new entertainment experience for customers to attract lapsed and new players. This in turn will improve bingo revenues for charities and non profit organizations and stop the decline of the bingo industry. The next steps in order to start bingo revitalization in the City of Pickering and to facilitate this regulatory change, final standard contracts will need to be signed by OLGC, the respective commercial operators, charity associations and the Municipality. Attachments: 1. Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation Public Awareness Article 2. Letter from Mayfair Bingo Association 3. Letter from Delta Bingo Hall Prepared/Approved/Endorsed By: Debbie Shields City Clerk Copy: Chief Administrative Officer Recommended for the consideration of Pickerin City Cou ciI '3/, 20/ Tony Prevedel, P.Eng. Chief Administrative Officer CORP0227-07/01 revised II f 226 REVITALIZATION OF CHARITABLE BINGO AND GAMING INDUSTRY March 16, 2011 Public Awareness Campaign Launched to Support Benefits to Local Charities TORONTO - OLG is embarking on a public awareness campaign to inform Ontarians about plans to revitalize the Bingo industry for the benefit of charities across Ontario. Across the province, electronic and paper-based games will be introduced to provide a new entertainment experience at local bingo centres. OLG is joining forces with the Ontario Charitable Gaming Association (OCGA) and the Commercial Gaming Association Ontario (CGAO) to provide a new breed of charitable games to complement existing paper bingo games. The collaboration with the OCGA and the CGAO will result in increased support for local charities. "We are proud to be helping charities in their efforts to stabilize and grow their fundraising," said John Wisternoff, Vice President for Charitable Gaming and iGaming. "This spells `WIN' for Ontario: more support for charities, communities and commercial operators across the province." The collaboration of OLG, the OCGA and the CGAO heralds plans for an expansion in the number of Gaming Centres offering an array of new electronic games. The new games will allow Gaming Centres to be more competitive and appealing to a broader demographic, while providing a different gaming entertainment experience from traditional casinos or slots at racetracks. This initiative is intended to offer players an interactive environment, a new way to play bingo and charitable social games and enhanced customer service. "The intent of this revitalization initiative is to preserve and enhance the funding for charities across Ontario for years to come," said Lynn Cassidy, Executive Director of the OCGA. "The OCGA, in collaboration with OLG and the CGAO will work toward a secure funding model for charities across Ontario." "The charitable gaming sector is in support of this initiative because of what it will mean for commercial, operators of Bingo Centres, in seeking to broaden the appeal of this new exciting charitable bingo and gaming experience within the communities they operate" said Peter McMahon, Chief Executive Officer of the CGAO. "The Centres will offer Bingo games with a twist-electronic games that are exciting and engaging and will attract new players." The expansion of new games for the charitable gaming industry will build on the six pilot sites operating across Ontario, including: Boardwalk Gaming Centre Barrie, Treasure Chest Bingo in Kingston, Kawartha Club Bingo in Peterborough, Boardwalk Gaming Centre Sudbury and Breakaway Gaming Centre Windsor and Paradise Gaming Centre in Windsor. These sites have i 227 generated $30 million for their local charities since 2005. "From the municipality point of view, one of the biggest benefits we've realized in Peterborough during the pilot project is a streamlined administration process that saves time and resources," said Nancy Wright-Laking, City Clerk of the City of Peterborough. Peterborough is the home of a pilot Gaming Centre, the Kawartha Club Bingo. "Our participation in the initiative also provides a steady stream of revenue to help support the local funding model for charities. This is a great benefit for Peterborough." OLG is a provincial agency responsible for province-wide lottery games and gaming facilities. Since 1975, OLG lotteries, bingos, casinos, slots, and resort casinos have generated more than ,$32 billion for the benefit of the Province of Ontario. Gaming proceeds support Ontario's hospitals, amateur sport, recreational and cultural activities, communities, provincial priority programs such as health care and education, and local and provincial charities and non-profit organizations through the Ontario Trillium Foundation. THE ONTARIO PROBLEM GAMBLING HELPLINE 1-888-230-3505 Disponible en frangais -30- www.OLG.ca For more information contact: OLG Media Line 1.888.946.6716 R , Contact Us I Careers I Consumer Protection Site Map Francais This Web site is for the use of consumers in Ontario, who meet the minimum age requirements (at least 18 years of age in the case of lottery and bingo, and 19 years of age in the case of gaming). Terms of Use Privacy I Government of Ontario Privacy Policy Security I Legal ©201.1 Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation I 228 Mayfair Bingo (Pickering) Association 975 Dillingham Road, Pickering, ON UW 1Z7 May 16,2011 City of Pickering One The Esplanade Pickering, Ontario L 1 V 6K7 Attn: Ms. Debbie Shield Dear Ms. Shield: This is to inform the City of Pickering that the charities from Mayfair (Bingo) Pooling Association raising funds at Delta Pickering Bingo Hall have demonstrated a commitment of interest to participate in the Revitalization of Charitable Bingo and Gaming Initiative offered by Ontario Lottery and Gaming. We recognize that charitable bingo needs new technology and new products to remain viable for our charities in future years. Overall, bingo revenues in the province have been declining at an average of 8 to 10 percent a year. Bingo revenues are a critical source of fund raising for our charities and play an important role in providing needed services in this community. We are requesting that our municipality and our council support our participation in this new model and that the municipality agrees to move forward with the partnership with Ontario Lottery and Gaming. Sincerely, Linda Mair President of Mayfair Pooling Association, On behalf of the Charities Mayfair/Delta Pickering MAY.27. 2011 10:44AM DELTA BINGO NO. 037 P. 1 d83 Speers Road C~ Oakville, Ontario L6K 2G4 Phone: (905) 842-9386 Fax: (905) 8Q2-9232, Debbie Shields, City Clerk City of Pickering Dear Debbie, Please be advised that I fully support the exciting Bingo initiative being under taken by the OLG. Bingo hall operators have been working very closely with the OCGA (provincial charities association) and the OLG to bring this prog= to fruition. All of us involved with Delta Pickering are thrilled to have been chosen for the initial rollout. Please feel free to contact me if you require any further information. Yours truly, Cameron Johnstone Delta Bingo Inc. (416) 219-4457 - : . camOdeltabin7m.com a F. ~e ~3`0 5 ~ 5..:~"_! ~ F~- ..y~ Ly to ~ 1,-.,~* ~i Y- S IWI www.deltabing _ o.com