Randall Denley: Ontario won’t build ‘Vegas of the North.’ It shouldn’t want to - National Post

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Copy URL Facebook Linked In X (Twitter) Loading account options Sign In Manage Account Close account menu Sign Out Other than its impressive waterfall, the city of Niagara Falls consists of little more than two casinos and a number of tourist traps. (Adobe Stock) By Randall Denley November 4, 2026 at 6:54 p.m. The Ontario government’s addiction to gambling is quickly moving from troublesome to embarrassing. The non-stop ads from the flood of online gaming sites are bad enough, but now Premier Doug Ford wants to make Niagara Falls into the “Vegas of the North.”

At a time when Ontario is engaged in a damaging trade war with the U.S., why would the province want to emulate anything American, especially its tackiest city?

People in Niagara Falls haven’t even been consulted yet, but Ford’s plan is going ahead at full speed. He wants to add up to three major casinos to the two that are already there, even though the government’s online gambling is already cutting into casino revenue. They’ve also just added a new mega-casino in Toronto, not too far up the road.

Apparently, that’s not enough. The Ford government has asked “experienced, world-class gaming operators” to step up with new casino proposals. Operators keen to break into the new Vegas of the North will have to invest at least $1.5 billion each and pony up a $100 million “entrance fee.” Nobody makes a buck on Big Doug’s turf without offering a little sweetener.

The casinos are the big item in the government’s Destination Niagara strategy, an attempt to double the economic impact of tourism in the Niagara area and turn it into a “world-class” destination. The plan also contemplates a new theme park, after the closure of Marineland in 2024.

The areas outside of the city of Niagara Falls are already renowned for their more than 100 vineyards, the Shaw Festival and historic Niagara-on-the-Lake. It’s an attractive and sophisticated destination.

Niagara Falls itself consists of little more than the falls and a series of tourist traps including multiple wax museums and haunted houses. As a columnist in the local online publication Pelham Today put it, “It’s the only place in the world where you can see a 53-metre waterfall while a giant Frankenstein eats a cheeseburger by a rooftop rollercoaster near a night club.”

If two casinos haven’t turned Niagara Falls into a Las Vegas competitor, three more aren’t going to do it. The real Las Vegas has nearly 100 major casinos. Why would anyone go to mini-Vegas when they could go to the real thing?

The provincial tourism strategy feels like a smokescreen put out by a government whose real agenda is to boost its gambling revenue by sticking five casinos in a city of 100,000 people.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) paid the provincial government about $2.2 billion in 2024–25. Casinos and lotteries make up the bulk of Ontario’s gambling revenue, but its four-year-old online gambling business provides most of the growth. While OLG’s overall revenue missed targets that year, the online gaming sites it owns directly generated $882 million, up 18 per cent.

The province raked in an additional $417 million from provincial gambling Crown corporation iGaming Ontario. That’s the 20 per cent of the revenue it takes from the privately owned online gambling sites (not including gambling-related sales taxes and corporate taxes). The business is booming, with 49 private operators and 84 gambling sites.

Online gambling is a threat to brick-and-mortar casinos and the government’s plan for more of them. Why drive to a casino when you can blow your money at home on sports betting or online casinos? No need to dress up or buy expensive drinks.

Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates, the NDP’s tourism critic, says the city’s casinos have told him there have been job losses already. Niagara Falls’ casinos are operated by the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, an American aboriginal casino operator. They have reported earnings declines in the last three fiscal quarters.

It’s not all bad for the Mohegan group. They had exclusive rights to operate in Niagara Falls. In August, the Ontario government agreed to pay Mohegan for any lost revenue caused by the new casinos. Unsurprisingly, Mohegan was quite pleased with that deal.

While all these exciting new plans unfolded, the people who live in Niagara Falls seem to have been forgotten. Newly elected mayor Lori Lococo says it’s time that the Ford government consulted with people in Niagara Falls.

That should have been the province’s first step, but when Ford wants something, not much slows him down.

The thing is, constantly pushing gambling and foisting it on communities where people haven’t asked for it is a bad look for a premier who defines his role as protecting Ontarians. Gambling is an addictive experience that, at best, provides a temporary thrill. Where’s the public good?

Ford is turning his government into a gambling promoter to get money that amounts to about one per cent of provincial revenue. It seems like a bad bet.

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