More than 45 jobs impacted by planned Sarnia casino closure: operator

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Robert Mitchell said Gateway Casinos and Entertainment, which also operates casinos in Point Edward, Chatham-Kent, London, and elsewhere in Ontario, learned about the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) decision last week.

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The Gateway Casino Sarnia closure is the result of an Optional Slots at Racetracks Program (OSARP) sunset clause taking effect March 31, 2026, OLG officials said this week.

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Sarnia’s 150-slot-machine casino at Hiawatha Horse Park was among a handful of sites in Ontario opened under the program around 2019, to assist eligible racetracks where slots previously had existed but were shut down – or were queued for relocation – by the end of the provincial slots at racetracks program in 2012, said OLG spokesperson Tony Bitonti.

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Kawartha Downs, in Cavan-Monaghan Township, was among those queued for relocation, preserved under OSARP, and now also is set to close by March 31, he said.

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An exact date for the closures hasn’t been set.

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Only the Hiawatha and Kawartha Downs sites are impacted in this announcement, Bitonti said.

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“From the outset, OSARP was scheduled to end on March 31, 2026, with the casino lease not being extended and partners made aware during the process,” he said in a statement.

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Like with Gateway and Hiawatha, in Sarnia, plans are to work with Kawartha Downs operator Great Canadian Entertainment and the property owner to make the decommissioning process there as smooth as possible, he said.

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“And like Sarnia, through this transition, following the casino closure, OLG will be providing an additional year of MCA (municipal contribution agreement) payments,” he said, equal to the amount provided in fiscal year 2025-26.

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Sarnia has received about $400,000 a year under the agreement for the past three years, city spokesperson Steve Henschel said.

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The city has received $28.1 million since the horse-park slots opened in 1999, OLG said earlier this year.

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Cavan-Monaghan Township has received more than $62 million since 1999, Bitonti said.

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Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley this week wrote Premier Doug Ford asking to hear the business case for the closure.

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“Now that I know that there’s two sites involved, hopefully I can align with (Cavan-Monaghan) and say: ‘Let’s push back on this,’” he said.

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The decision to close hurts even more with job losses mounting elsewhere in Ontario, Bradley said, questioning “why they wouldn’t try to extend it for another year or two and keep people employed.”