Casino revenue rebounds in Gananoque, TLTI
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) has issued first-quarter gaming revenue payments of $221,901 each to the Town of Gananoque and the Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands, for hosting Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands.
The payments cover the period from April 1 to June 30, the first quarter of the fiscal year, and represent an increase from the $185,356 each municipality received for the previous quarter (Jan. 1 to March 31).
Since what is now known as Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands opened in June 2002, Gananoque and TLTI have each received $34,681,693 through OLG’s municipal revenue-sharing program, officials at the agency said.
The stronger first-quarter payment follows a year in which annual gaming revenue continued its long-term decline.
During OLG’s 2025-26 fiscal year, each municipality received $873,544, down from approximately $938,000 the previous fiscal year.
While the latest quarterly payment signals an improvement from the previous quarter, annual casino revenues remain well below historical highs. In the early 2010s, Gananoque and TLTI each received more than $1.8 million annually, more than double the amount received in 2025-26.
Municipal officials have previously acknowledged casino revenues are unlikely to return to those peak levels and have emphasized the importance of diversifying municipal revenue sources rather than relying heavily on gaming payments.
Gaming hosting payments are calculated using a provincewide graduated formula based on gaming revenue generated at each site.
“Revenues from OLG’s Municipality Contribution Agreement allow the Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands and the Town of Gananoque to invest in infrastructure and provide funding for critical community services,” said Leeds–Grenville–Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes MPP Steve Clark in a prepared statement.
“Provincial revenues from Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands will help improve the quality of life for families across Ontario.”
According to OLG, host communities across Ontario have received more than $2.4 billion in non-tax gaming revenue since 1994. The corporation said all of its profits are reinvested in the province, with municipal hosting payments supporting local infrastructure, community services and economic development.
Keith Dempsey is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Brockville Recorder and Times. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.