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Document
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PO-1745
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File #
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PA-990047-1
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Institution/HIC
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Ontario Casino Corporation
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Summary
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BACKGROUND: The Ontario Casino Corporation (OCC) is an agency of the government of Ontario, established under the Ontario Casino Corporation Act, 1993 . The OCC manages Ontario's three commercial casinos, Casino Niagara, Casino Rama and Casino Windsor. The casinos are operated by three different companies pursuant to agreements with the OCC. The information at issue in this appeal was provided to the OCC by the casinos pursuant to these agreements. NATURE OF THE APPEAL: The OCC received a request for access to information under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ). The requester sought records containing "… the average percentage payout of the various categories of slot machines in the Ontario casinos." The requester further stated: … I am not looking for individual statistics, but rather a generalization such as: quarter slot average is ??% - 50 cent slot average is ??% - $1.00 slot average is ??%. I understand from talking to [the OCC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Co-ordinator] that these figures are not now available. It seems to me that the general figures that I am asking for are not figures that would reveal any deep secrets of the gaming business in Ontario, as these types of figures are readily available in the U.S. I am hoping to obtain the above information, in a friendly manner, and in the spirit in which I am asking. The information I seek, is so that I can become a more aware consumer of the gambling entertainment that your corporation offers. The OCC responded to the requester by stating that it "does not have records which respond to your request for percentage payouts of the various slot machines." The OCC also stated: However, I can advise you that, by regulation, Ontario commercial casino slot payouts must be 85% or higher. That is, a minimum of 85% of the money wagered by patrons at slot machines in Ontario casinos is paid back to patrons in the form of winnings. The casinos cannot "win" more than 15%. The requester then wrote to the OCC, explaining that he did not accept the OCC's response. The OCC replied by stating that it "… does not have the records which respond to your request. Although we are able to calculate average percentages, we do not release such information to the public, other than the 85% to 100% range previously given to you, as this is confidential business information." The requester (now the appellant) appealed the OCC's decision to this office. With his letter of appeal, the appellant enclosed excerpts from two magazines, Strictly Slots (December 1998) and Casino Players (October 1998) which he indicated contain information similar to that requested relating to casinos in many states of the United States and the province of Quebec. The OCC later wrote to the requester stating: The [OCC] would rely upon sections 18(1)(a) and (c) of the Act , and likely also section 17(1), as the basis for refusing to provide access to the record, if it existed, since the information constitutes financial or commercial information which, if disclosed, could harm or prejudice OCC's economic or financial interests. During the mediation stage of the appeal, the OCC reiterated that it does not have records which identify the average payout percentages of the various categories of slot machines, as requested by the appellant. The OCC explained, however, that it does have records for a particular time period, which show the daily average hold percentage ( i.e. , the amount not paid out) per slot averaged on a monthly or fiscal year-to-date basis, and broken down by denomination/class of slot machine. Specifically, the time period for which this information exists, according to the OCC, is April 1998 to February 1999. The OCC also explained that the records for April, May, July, August, October and November 1998, as well as January and February 1999, consist of monthly averages, while the records for June, September and December 1998 consist of fiscal year-to-date averages. Both the appellant and the OCC agreed that the records as described above are the records responsive to the appellant's request. Also during the mediation stage of the appeal the OCC clarified that it was relying on paragraphs (a) and (c) of section 17(1) of the Act , and paragraphs (a) and (c) of section 18(1) of the Act , to deny access to the records. Finally, during mediation, the appellant raised the possible application of the "public interest override" in section 23 of the Act . I sent a Notice of Inquiry setting out the issues in the appeal to the appellant, the OCC and the operators of the three casinos to which the records relate (the casinos). The casinos submitted a single, joint set of representations. THE RECORDS: The records at issue in this appeal consist of 11 pages, dated monthly from April 1998 to February 1999 inclusive. The first seven pages are entitled "Average Analysis Per Slot Per Day." The last four pages are entitled "Summary of Slots." Each page is an excerpt from monthly or quarterly OCC internal reports. Each page of the record contains three major columns of information. The information which is responsive to the appellant's request appears in the third major column on each page, which is entitled "Individual Average Hold Percentage Per Slot Per Day." The parties have agreed that the first two major columns on each page of the record are not at issue in this appeal. The third column is further broken down into categories for each of the casinos as well as categories for each type of slot machine (e.g., $1, $5). Each of the figures reveals the average percentage of money that the slot machines of a given type at a given casino "held back" during the given month. In effect, the information at issue would reveal the amount that the casino "won" based on each category. DISCUSSION: ECONOMIC INTERESTS OF ONTARIO Introduction The OCC claims t
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Legislation
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FIPPA
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18(1)(c)
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Section 23
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Subject Index
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Signed by
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David Goodis
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Published
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Jan 25, 2000
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Type
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Order
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