Casino near Port Perry earns $660,000-plus in hosting fees for local First Nation

The Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation are more than $660,000 richer this week after receiving first quarter hosting fees for the Great Blue Heron Casino.

The money is paid through the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation for the period from April 1 to June 30.

Since the casino opened in May 2000 the First Nation has received $34,380,586.

The payments to host communities are based on a formula that is applied across all casinos in Ontario using a graduated scale of gaming revenue at the hosted site.

Ontario Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming Stan Cho said investing casino profits back into the host communities is a way to strengthen local infrastructure and community programs. “We remain focused on working with our municipal partners to ensure that communities across Ontario have the supports in place to empower their residents … and enable local businesses to thrive.”

Since 1994, host communities have received more than $2.1 billion in non-tax gaming revenue.

Casino providers have invested more than $2.2 billion in private sector capital across the province since 2017. These investments have led to the development and opening of seven new casinos and one in development.