Scugog Island casino will continue community support after September gaming model changes – DurhamRegion.com
Great Blue Heron to lose charity casino status; join Ajax in new GTA gaming bundle
SCUGOG ISLAND — The Great Blue Heron will shift from a charity casino to a commercial gaming hall in September but the chief of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation pledges that charitable donations to the community will continue.
The Scugog Island First Nation has been in negotiations with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation since late 2013 after the Province announced it would be rolling out a new modernization strategy for gambling facilities in Ontario.
After initially balking at the effort, fearing additional casinos would saturate the market and “cannibalize” local revenues, the MSIFN finalized a deal with the OLG in July that will see the Great Blue Heron change its gaming model from a charity casino to a commercial gaming casino, effective Sept. 8.
