Ontario Ends Niagara Casino Exclusivity, Opens Door to New Operators

^{MGE Niagara Entertainment will keep running Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara, but has given up the exclusivity that has kept other operators out of the region for years. (Image: Ken Gillespie Photography/Alamy)}

Ontario has ended MGE Niagara Entertainment Inc.'s exclusive hold on casino gaming in the Niagara region, opening one of the province's biggest tourism markets to new operators for the first time in decades.

Doug Downey, Ontario's interim minister of tourism, culture and gaming, announced the agreement between the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and MGE on Aug. 13.

What The Agreement Changes

MGE, the Mohegan-backed operator behind Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara, has agreed to give up the exclusivity rights it holds within OLG's Niagara Gaming Bundle.

MGE will continue operating both properties for now. OLG plans to run a procurement process later this year to bring additional casino operators into the region, though it has not named any candidates or set a firm timeline.

"Niagara has long been one of Ontario's premier tourism destinations, and we're working to unlock its full potential and attract more visitors and investment for decades to come," Downey said in the announcement.

OLG president and CEO Duncan Hannay described the change as a continuation of the OLG-MGE relationship rather than a break from it, saying, "OLG and MGE are continuing our strong partnership and shared commitment to the Niagara community."

Part Of A Larger Tourism Push

The move is one piece of Ontario's Destination Niagara Strategy, a plan Premier Doug Ford first announced in December aimed at roughly doubling the region's tourism draw.

The province is targeting 25 million annual visitors to Niagara and an extra $3 billion a year in provincial GDP under that strategy, though officials have not detailed what a broader gaming build-out would ultimately look like.

OLG has paid the City of Niagara Falls more than $256 million since the first gaming site opened there in December 1996, a figure that underlines how central Fallsview and Casino Niagara already are to the local economy.

How Ontario's Gaming Bundles Work

Ontario's land-based casinos operate under long-term agreements with OLG, which retains overall responsibility for the province's gaming industry even as private companies run individual properties.

MGE has held its Niagara agreement since 2019, when it won a competitive bid for the bundle over other major operators and signed on for a 21-year term.

OLG has not said which companies might bid to enter Niagara once its procurement process opens later this year.