On Monday afternoon, Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corp. President & CEO Rod Phillips issued a letter to the horse racing industry addressing the concerns presented by the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association late last week.

Phillips’ letter appears below.

Re: OHRIA Sounds Alarm Over RFPQ, Sole Bundle Operators

OLG will be working closely with the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel to integrate horse racing into Ontario’s gaming strategy so I’m glad there is attention being paid to the issue. I’m writing to clarify a few issues that have been raised recently.

OLG’s modernization of gaming is an opportunity to bring private sector expertise into our business. OLG’s procurement process was designed very carefully to ensure that it is fair and competitive.

In fact, OLG’s procurement process presents an opportunity for racetracks. Racetrack owners/operators may compete in this public procurement on the same basis as other vendors. Another option is for owners/operators to join with a larger consortium or group to become a partner in a gaming facility. This would mean generating additional revenue (beyond rent) from a facility on racetrack property.

OLG is grouping some of its gaming zones into gaming bundles. The bundles are designed to make the day-to-day operation of the businesses more efficient for service providers. As we know, customers tend to be drawn from geographic areas–and they often visit a number of facilities in the same region. So bundling will allow easier cross-marketing and cooperation between groups of facilities.

It’s important to note that Gaming Bundles will not mean the merging of current or proposed facilities, or Gaming Zones. There will be just one facility in each Gaming Zone.

As part of modernization, OLG is working with the government to ensure that horse racing is integrated with the provincial gaming strategy to ensure future revenue streams for the industry.

OLG is moving forward with approved government policy to help make Ontario’s lottery and gaming industry a long-term success.

When the modernization of lottery and gaming is complete, additional revenue will be available to help fund provincial priorities such as hospitals and municipal infrastructure. In addition, a modern OLG will help create thousands of jobs and drive more than $3 billion in capital investments across Ontario.

Sincerely,

Rod Phillips President and CEO