A panel of former cabinet ministers, which has been in consultation with the horse-racing industry, believes the industry will need more money to make the transition to a more sustainable model when the Slots at Racetracks funding agreement ends.
“Our government committed $50 million over the next three years to help transition the industry. The panel believes that a greater investment is required,” Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Ted McMeekin said in a statement released last Friday.
The panel, made up of Elmer Buchanan, John Snobelen and John Wilkinson, was formed on June 7 to lead consultations with the horse-racing industry following the announcement that the Slots at Racetracks funding arrangement was to end March 31, 2013. Their report was to have been received by McMeekin Aug. 17, the release said.
In his statement, McMeekin said he had received an interim report, and a final report is expected no later than the end of September.
The funding agreement, which began in 1998, sees tracks receiving 10 per cent of gambling revenue from the slot machines they host, while those involved in racing horses get another 10 per cent and the hosting municipalities get five per cent. The other 75 per cent of the revenue goes to the provincial government.
The decision to end the agreement, announced in March, has sparked local protests from those connected with the racing industry.
“Tens of thousands of jobs are on the line because this government arrogantly cancelled an agreement that was working well,” said Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece in a news release.
But in his statement, McMeekin said the panel supported the government’s decision.
“The panel has concluded the government made the right decision to end the Slots at Racetracks program – a program that cost taxpayers $345 million a year,” he said. “The panel said it would be a mistake to reinstate the program – going so far as to call it ‘poor public policy.’ ”
At the same time, the panel suggests that some sort of public funding should continue.
“Overall, the horse-racing industry now derives 63.6 per cent of its purse revenue from SARP. Few if any industries could survive such a sharp financial loss,” said its report.
It goes on to say that “a viable, world-class industry requires public support to sustain its core elements.”
While the panel thinks the industry will need more investment to help it transition out of the slots program, any public transitional investment “must include clear public-interest principles of fiscal accountability, transparency, a renewed focus on the consumer and a business case showing that each public dollar invested is returned to the province through tax revenues,” McMeekin said.
“The government has asked the panel to consult further with the industry to determine its willingness to work together in such a way that recognizes the public interest and the current fiscal climate.”