Smoking
Ban to Hurt Ontario Casino Revenues
"On Wednesday, mychoice.ca,
a smoker's rights group funded by the tobacco
industry, released a series of briefing notes
written in 2004 to the Minister of Economic
Development and Trade Joe Cordiano. Acquired
with an Access to Information request, the notes
say:
"- Municipal non-smoking bylaws in jurisdictions
like Ottawa (which has racetrack slots) and
Brantford (with a charity casino) had already
resulted in $131 million in lost revenue;
"…- Overall drop in gaming revenue
is estimated at 20 per cent, or $250 million
to $350 million annually;
"…Casino Windsor spokeswoman Holly
Ward said it's too early to speculate on potential
job losses at the 4,000-employee casino…"
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