Great Canadian Gaming


Great Canadian Gaming is a Canadian gaming, entertainment and hospitality company, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and part of the S&P/TSX Composite Index.

Business

Great Canadian operates 25 gaming properties in Canada, consisting of casinos, horse race tracks, and smaller-scale gaming centres. It also runs hotels, restaurants, and entertainment facilities associated with its properties. As of the third quarter of 2017, 67% of revenue was from gaming. As of 2018, it had 9,400 employees. In 2016, 61% of revenues were from British Columbia, 17% were from Ontario, 15% were from Atlantic Canada, and the rest were from the United States. In total, Great Canadian properties include 16,000 slot machines, 386 table games, 80 dining establishments and 500 hotel rooms.
In 2017, their gross gaming revenue was about $1.2 billion, with net earnings for 2017 of $85.7 million.

History

The company was founded in 1982 as the Great Canadian Casino Company. It initially operated charity casinos and a casino at Vancouver's Pacific National Exhibition. In 1986, it opened its first permanent casino in Vancouver. It held an IPO on the TSX Venture Exchange in 1992, and renamed itself the Great Canadian Gaming Company in 1997. In 2004, it listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. In 2005, it acquired a number of casinos in Ontario and Nova Scotia. As a result of these acquisitions, it breached debt agreements in March 2006.
Great Canadian has been investigated for money laundering that allegedly took place at their River Rock Casino Resort. The company has released a statement saying that it has followed all the necessary procedures.
In August 2017, Great Canadian won a bidding process to take over the slots facility at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto from the OLG. It also took over the slots at the Ajax Downs track and the Great Blue Heron Casino. The then-opposition Ontario PCs called for the deal to be halted due to the money laundering allegations.
In December 2017, Great Canadian won a process to take over four more OLG facilities.

Properties

British Columbia