Ontario Tribal Gaming

All tribal gaming properties in Ontario are managed and operated by Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG). The Mnjikaning First Nation opened the first tribal casino in 1996.

In February 2005, former Ontario premier David Peterson was appointed to lead discussions with First Nations toward achieving a new agreement on sharing gaming revenues. First Nations receive gaming proceeds from Casino Rama in Orillia through a revenue-sharing agreement that was to run until 2011. In March 2006, a Gaming and Revenue Sharing Agreement-in-Principle was signed that began providing First Nations with 1.6% of gross revenue from all provincial gaming and an additional CAD 155 million over six years when it took effect in 2011.

In June 2007, the First Nations rejected a revenue-sharing agreement that would have given them CAD 2.5 billion over 20 years. They said they could not accept the deal because it added provisions not present in the agreement in 2006. Those provisions included abandoning their lawsuit against the province, having restrictions placed on where the money goes, and giving up their interest in Casino Rama.

In August 2011, a new agreement between OLG and Rama First Nation went into effect. It provides for a new training and development center for the tribe and assures that operation of Casino Rama will continue unaffected by the modernization and revitalization program of OLG.