The View - 237

1714 – cGaming – [Performance]

As we enter the final week of March, this is also the end of the financial [OLG] year. This is the first time in three (3) years we have not had a break in operations or closures. The c-Gaming sector continues its path to recovery and emerging in this re-shaped gambling environment. As with the majority of gaming channels [Lottery, Casinos & iGaming], we are trading better than initially thought coming out of the pandemic period.

The hard work and difficult choices that our Members undertook, led by our Chair – Mr. Tony Rosa and Vice Chair – Mr. Cam Johnstone, in seeking to bring the business to scale and then a focus on managing the margin has produced a more focused and disciplined operation with a drive on efficiency and effective delivery to our consumers.

Through this work by our Operators and support by our vendor members, we have been able to deliver, on average, over $C1m per week to our 2,200 Charity Groups aligned to the cGaming platform. We will see at year end an estimated +$C75m contribution that will be a record in any twelve-month period since the Revitalization of Charitable Bingo & Gaming was launched, which has been jointly spearheaded by OCGA &CGAO.

We [CGAO & OCGA] could not have achieved this without the support of the Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation [OLG] and their combined Land-base cGaming Team headed by Mr. David Fraser. We want to publicly acknowledge their work and support (cGaming) in building the foundation of partnership. It takes hard work and commitment by all concerned to make it work. Bingo in this province has a long and rich heritage of delivering real and immediate value to communities and long may that continue.

What is encouraging is the ongoing re-investment from our Members into their venues in adapting and responding to consumers changing expectations and needs. This is way in excess of an estimated $C110m now. We are very pleased to see this incremental measured approach being undertaken by our Members. 

However, there are challenges on the horizon. The CGAO is seeking to mitigate those challenges to ensure we continue to deliver to Members, our Charities, our Partners and the Communities where we are located.  

1715 – Mr. Tom Mungham – AGCO

It has been announced by the Chair of the AGCO Board that the Chief Executive Officer & Registrar – Mr. Tom Mungham will, in due course, be retiring from the organization. The Chair has announced the launching of an ‘Open Process’ Executive Search for a new Chief Executive Officer.

Tom will be staying in his role until a successor is appointed and there is a smooth transition of responsibility. Hence, we will an opportunity to acknowledge and thank Tom directly for his contribution and service in the months ahead.

1716 – Annual General Meeting [AGM]

To all Members in Good Standing - we will be hosting our Annual General Meeting in the month of May. A formal communication will be released in due course. The headline details are noted below.

            Date: 30^th May 2023

            Where: Holiday Inn (Airport East) Toronto 

            Time: 10:00am

            Room: Centennial Ballroom (2^nd Floor)

            Refreshments: Coffee/Tea : Light Snacks

1717 – Players Health & Wellness

The CGAO was in attendance at the recent New Horizon Conference (Vancouver), the first in-person conference since 2020. It was a good opportunity to re-group with a cross section of professionals on the critical issues of our business.

The CGAO has been attending this conference from the early days and it has been interesting to see its development. There was a real sense that the whole RG community is at crossroads and needs to reinvent its positioning and engagement in order that it becomes a supporting positive element of the business.

In a panel of global representatives, Ms. Jamie Wiebe (Crown Resorts – Australia) hit it in a nut-shell when she flagged the critical elements to drive change are Leadership : Culture : People and I totally agree with that positioning.

I sensed from BCLC that New Horizons will be refreshed and repositioned for the 2024 conference and I am excited to see what the team will bring forth. 

Here in Ontario the CGAO continues to work with our primary Health & Wellness Partners, the OLG and RGC. We are about to launch a very exciting initiative in the GTA on a refreshing of the cGaming ‘Play-Smart Champions Program. This will run until July 2023 before being launched (phased) into other cGaming Venues. This is very exciting and a further step in our incremental journey on the Player Health and Wellness path.

We have worked through various representatives at the OLG and RGS. I must say that in all our dealings they have been extremely willing to work in a co-operative/partnership fashion to move the agenda forward and this is greatly appreciated. We host regular in-person quarterly meetings to drive forward our combined objectives.

1718 – Joint Charitable Gaming Conference – 2023

Mark Your Calendar : Charitable Gaming Conference – 2023 : New Location 

The Commercial Gaming Association Ontario [CGAO] and Ontario Charitable Gaming Association [OCGA] are pleased to announce the dates of the 2023 Conference.

This is the only conference that focuses exclusively on the Charitable Gaming Industry in Ontario. It brings together Charitable Organizations, the Commercial Operators/Vendors and government bodies engaged in Charitable Gaming (both Provincial and Municipal) for two days of networking and informative sessions.

Last year’s conference was a tremendous success, with strong support for our sponsors and delegates. We will have the registration and sponsorship packages available very soon.

Conference Details:

            Date: 7^th & 8^th November 2023

            Where: Delta Hotel by Marriot Toronto (Conference Centre)

            Address: 655 Dixon Road, Toronto.

Please mark your calendar. Details will follow shortly. If you have any immediate questions, please contact me direct at mcmahon.pli@sysmpatico.ca.

1719 – Charity Gaming: Community Good

It is very encouraging that the Charity Gaming : Community Good Brand continues to be developed by the Team at the OCGA – led by Ms. Mary O’Neill and supported by Operations Director – Mr. Richard Schwar. They are continuing to make headway with the development initiatives, mainly driven by the web platform which is the anchor or foundation piece that we will see additional elements built on and around.

As always, Mary and the team are willing to undertake Joint Initiatives with Commercial Operators where the joint objectives are being achieved.

A prime example of this is Richard is looking to adapt video-files that can be used within the Venues Media System to promote and increase awareness of the Charities and the community projects that benefit from our platform. If you have other suggestions please reach out to Mary directly and discuss the opportunity to see if it is a fit.

All partners [OCGA : OLG : CGAO] are looking at how we reach and seek additional charity groups to join this program, Like with most organizations, the Pandemic had a tremendous impact both in terms of Groups and directly volunteers but we are looking at options. More to come in due course on that.  

1720 – People of the Move

There have been various people on the move since our last newsletter. We have listed those changes below.

• Ms. Joan Martin - It has been announced that Ms. Joan Martin, OLG-cGaming team member, will be retiring on the 26^th April 2023 after numerous years of service with the OLG. Joan is a highly respected member of the cGaming Team and will be missed. Joan goes with our best wishes on a long, happy and enjoyable retirement.

• Ms. Sheila Hill - It has been announced by the Director (Operations), Ms. Valerie Braun, that Ms. Sheila Hill has been appointed to Senior Business Advisor cGaming, effective from the 20^th March 2023. Sheila takes over the region from Joan Martin from the 27^th April. Sheila brings a vast amount of experience to her new role, within various positions in the OLG since 20205. Shelia will report to Ms. Valerie Braun – Director.

We wish them all well as we head into 2023 and they undertake their new roles.

1721 – Delta Bingo & Gaming Group

We are delighted to acknowledge the first cGaming Operator to join the Online Platform here in Ontario. Delta Bingo & Gaming Group, under the leadership of the CEO – Mr. Shawn Fisher, has launched the platform last week. It has taken a tremendous about of work by the whole Delta Team. We wanted to acknowledge their pioneering work and wish them every success as they forge a path forward in this channel.  

1722 – Canadian Gaming Association [CGA]

We continue with our regular touchpoints with CGA – CEO, Mr. Paul Burns, which is extremely useful in aligning our messaging and objectives (where they align) to advance the gambling agenda in a constructive and positive fashion that benefits the province through employment, Investments, entertainment and community contributions.

On the 4^th April 2023, Paul and his team will be hosting an event in Toronto to celebrate the 1^st anniversary of the successful launch of iGaming within Ontario. There is an action packed agenda and the CGAO will be present.