The View - 190

1411 – Canadian Gaming Association - Mr. Paul Burns

At the last Board Meeting of the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) it was confirmed that Mr. Paul Burns will undertake the position of Interim Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect.

As soon as the Vancouver conference was completed, Paul has been reaching out to various stakeholders (both direct and indirect) to obtain feedback or suggestions on the CGA future role within the overall Canadian gaming community. In speaking with Paul, it is clear he has some very interesting ideas on the future strategy and direction of the Association.

Congratulations to Paul on his appointment as Interim Chief Executive Officer. We wish him every success in his new role.

1412 – Responsible Gaming - c-Gaming

As we enter the mid-summer point, I just wanted to remind all c-Centres of the importance of having all staff fully up to speed on the Play-Smart (RG) training and, if required, some quick re-fresh points for those who have completed training and are at their midway point before re-training is required.

A core element of awareness is the Self-Exclusion Program, ensuring that key authorized staff are up to date on the binder and on the initial steps if a customer indicates a desire to join or receive information around this important program. Remember, at all times the data (binder) needs to be protected and retained in a secure environment.

All the RG Kiosks in c-Gaming have now been re-branded Play-Smart. On a recent visit to a Centre I took the opportunity to review one of these kiosk areas and it looks very good indeed.

1413 – AGCO - CGAO Training Pilot

The Board [CGAO] recently had an opportunity to review the program content and delivery platform at a recent meeting. It was clear that much progress has been made and we received positive and, may I say, constructive feedback from them, which will be given back to our suppliers to make some minor changes. Thus, overall the content and delivery method is coming together in an orderly fashion.

This is an important initiative and ground breaking for the Community Gaming Sector where we are partners with our regulator to bring forth a module training platform and we are rather excited about this opportunity. We will have a further presentation at our next General Meeting in September.

This project is being led by our Policy Advisor, Mr. Don Bourgeois, with firm and focused support from the Board of Directors (CGAO). What is important to remember is this is a pilot and they are designed to flush out critical elements to enhance potential programs for the future.

1414 – Delta Bingo & Gaming Group

Over the course of the year, Delta Bingo & Gaming Group are undertaking a celebration of over 50yrs service in the Charitable Gaming sector in the province. To mark this amazing achievement, the company has undertaken various promotional events. I was invited recently to Delta Gaming Centre – Brampton to witness the presentation of a Ford Escape to a Brampton customer, which was tremendous and a very enjoyable thing to see.

As the year progresses there will be more events for customers as a mark of appreciation by the senior Directors of the company who, through their corporate culture, place a high premium on PEOPLE, whether it is customers, staff, suppliers or officials. It is people that drive and create successful companies.

Congratulations to Mr. Cam Johnstone & Mr. Duncan Cameron and their fellow senior Directors for 50 years of corporate & community service. Here’s to the next 50 years!

1415 – Proposal - Labour Law Review

We have the recent provincial roundtables on the government’s proposed labour law review. I have received numerous pieces of feedback from our members expressing concern around the potential impacts this could have on the business. As you will be aware, the first core element will be an increase in the minimum wages, of which phase one (1) is due on the 1st January 2018 with phase two (2) following in January 2019 bringing the minimum wage in the province to $C15.00 per hour.

Although there has been a suggestion we could all drive greater efficiency within the business model, this is handicapped by the requirements of technology and reporting. The only serious element of efficiency that is being looked at is the overall reduction in hours worked to constrain overall cost impact. As this unfolds we will report back to our members. Currently our Chair has directed our lobbyist to set out potential avenues for us, which may follow a similar route of other Associations representing the hospitality or service sector.

1416 – Members Investment Continues

It has been encouraging to see the continuing and often untold story of the incremental investment our members are making within their Centres as the c-Gaming platform gains further traction. When the program was being designed, this was a foundation piece to ensure that environment and ambience was enhanced as we move forward over the course of the contract.

A few examples of recent investment initiatives deployed:

It is now estimated that we have deployed $C52m in Centre upgrades across all 31 c-Gaming Centres and this continues as we move forward. This is a remarkable achievement by the Commercial Operators, showing that they are meeting their commitment to re-invest in their businesses.

1417 – Next General Meeting

Please be advised that the next General Meeting will be held on Thursday, the 21st September 2017 in Toronto. Please save this date. More details will follow from our Administrator, Ms. Sandi Nesbitt, in due course.

1418 – CGAO Change of Address

Just a reminder to all, please be advised that from the 1st August 2017 the CGAO will be changing its registered office address from Toronto to Windsor as indicated below.