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The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. announced Thursday it’s extending its operating agreement with Caesars Windsor by another seventh months to allow it to complete the procurement process for selecting a company to operate the local casino.
The new agreement will now run through March 2026.
“It won’t impact the daily activities of the workers, but it removes the weight of a potential ownership change in the middle of bargaining,” said Unifor Local 444 president James Stewart, whose unit represents about 1,800 casino employees.
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“Our contract deadline is April next year and we’ll probably start negotiations in February-March. That weight of an ownership change is now off our minds with the extension.”
It’s the second such extension the OLG and Caesars have agreed to since August 2022. That extension allowed for a second extension of between six and 12 months.
The first extension was set to expire in August 2025.
“OLG is currently conducting a competitive procurement process to select a highly qualified service provider to handle day-to-day operations of the Windsor Casino,” said the OLG’s statement announcing the extension.
“Extending the current operating agreement will ensure sufficient time to complete the procurement process and transition the day-to-day operations to the successful proponent.
“The integrity of the process is of the utmost importance to the OLG.”
Stewart said it’s his understanding the OLG is still taking bids from potential operators. He said coming out of Covid, it was wise for the two sides to extend the original agreement to see how the gaming industry recovered.
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“We know the process is pretty in depth,” Stewart said. “Lots of companies have to do a lot to bid on the service contract.
“I don’t know when the deadline is, but I think bids are still open for a few weeks. They still plan to announce it (operator) next year.
“It’ll be a year-long transition, even if Caesars is selected, because it’ll be a new operating agreement.”
Stewart added the union has no contact with the OLG, but the provincial body is well versed about the details of the local contracts. He said each casino agreement is different in Ontario.
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