Canadian Lawyer InHouse

MARCH 2016 34 INHOUSE that you can ensure that it is operating in the most effi cient and reasonable way. If you take too much on, then I think it's going to gum up the process for others. Go slow, but make sure it's at a reasonable pace, that you are doing all the right things; you are pro- tecting the public, making sure that inves- tors have a reasonable rate of return. If you rush it, mistakes will occur, and that's when it gets problematical because you could have lawsuits and they will go on for some time." Don Bourgeois, a principal of advisory group Gaming & Regulation Group Inc., says the OLG modernization is shifting Ontario toward a model that is more con- Yet observers see neither a huge need to rush to complete the gambling sector transformation nor the remotest chance that Ontario will become a Las Vegas of the north, with the huge concentration of casino and non-gambling operations that Sin City has to offer. "Vegas is a heavy concentration of very glitzy iconic casinos that offer not only gam- ing but other similar and equally important types of entertainment," says Lipton. "On- tario wants gaming to be part of the fabric of the province, not to have it stand out in the same way as in Vegas." He says simultaneous rollouts of con- tracts for different bundles could cause problems. "It's important that you budget the time frame when these things occur so I n d u s t r y S p o t l i g h t sistent with what's happening in the rest of Canada, although each province is keeping its own unique features. "Ontario is one of the larger gaming mar- kets in North America and, from that per- spective, will always be of interest to both Canadian and non-Canadian gaming com- panies," he says, forecasting interest from several operators in each of the remaining Ontario bundles. "The private sector tends to be more responsive to consumer prefer- ences than does the public sector. My ex- pectation is, therefore, that the public will be a benefi ciary of the change to a more pri- vate sector operational model." IH When it's all said and done, every single facility across Ontario — we're looking at 29 facilities — will be operated by the private sector, and the model will be such that the OLG will stay on top of the pyramid in terms of being the operating mind. But new contracts will be issued and the model will be slightly different from what it was in the past. ILKIM HINCER, Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP '' '' ARE YOU RECEIVING CANADIAN LEGAL NEWSWIRE INHOUSE EDITION ? Between issues of Canadian Lawyer InHouse, keep abreast of news and developments affecting the in-house bar with our bi-weekly electronic newswire. VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE AND LOOK UNDER "LINKS" VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE AND LOOK UNDER " SIGN UP FOR FREE

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