Following the voting that declared that Toronto is now out of the race to construct a new mega casino in the GTA area, there are other Canadian municipalities who are eager to join the same game and race. Councils for Vaughan and Markham in Ontario have met this week, separately, in order to discuss how they can build support for the idea to build a huge gambling, entertainment & convention complex in their respective communities.

Such moves were perceived as threats by the Woodbine Racetrack in Etobicoke. The way the racetrack sees it is that having a new mega casino in any of these municipalities north of the city of Toronto is going to have a negative effect on their gambling operations.

The Lottery & Gaming Corp of Ontario is currently hoping to expand the gaming industry of the province by establishing a new casino that will be a new source of revenue in form of taxes as well as its ability to boost the province’s economy.

Last year, the council of Markham has undergone a voting process on the casino idea and it was refused by a small margin. This week, the council is going to consider a new motion to become a casino host city that will be subject to staff report and public consultation.  The recommendations on hosting the new casino will be made in Markham by this September. According to the councilor of Markham, Jim Jones, the decision in question represents a great opportunity to build a much better Markham.