The Municipality of Chatham-Kent has received its quarterly payment, just under $200,000 in non-tax gaming revenue, for hosting the OLG Slots at Dresden Raceway.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) issued the payment of $185,144 to the municipality on Friday.
“OLG gaming revenue provide essential funding to host communities which offers greater ability to invest in infrastructure projects as well as important local programs and services that benefit families,” stated Charles Sousa, Ontario’s Minister of Finance, in a press release.
“These funds directly benefit Ontario’s critical public services such as health care and education, and local development.”
In total across the province, $40,149,649 was given to 24 communities which currently host OLG facilities.
To date, host communities have received more than $1.37 billion in non-tax gaming revenue.
OLG officials say these payments are made under an equitable formula that determines the funds communities receive for hosting an OLG gaming facility and are based on an escalating scale of gaming revenue that is consistent across all sites in Ontario.
At approximately $2 billion annually, OLG provides the Ontario government with its largest source of non-tax revenue.
Modernization will help OLG provide more money to Ontario for hospitals and other government priorities.
In fiscal 2017-2018, the province will allocate $115 million in gaming revenue to support charities through the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
Every year, the Government of Ontario allocates funding to the province’s problem gambling program for research, treatment and prevention. The amount for fiscal 2017-2018 is $38 million.
Since April 2001, Chatham-Kent has received more than $10.4 million from the OLG.
