Caesars Windsor is betting big on single-game sports, becoming the first land-based casino in Ontario to offer a full-service, in-person sportsbook.
“It took a while… we're a little late to the game,” said Caesars Windsor president Kevin LaForet during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the casino Wednesday. “I mean, we would have loved to have been first in the market and been the first one versus Detroit casinos versus igaming. So it'll make it more competitive.”
The Caesars Sportsbook is located in front of Legends Sports Bar with three betting windows and seven betting kiosks.
The space features 22 large-screen HD LED TVs and dedicated seating areas.
Getting there wasn’t easy.
It’s been 11 years since Windsor-Tecumseh New Democrat Joe Comartin first took up the cause of getting single-sports betting at casinos in Ontario.
Private member bill after private member bill died on the floor of the House of Commons before Bill C-218 was finally passed into law in 2021.
“It gives them a chance to compete first and foremost because they couldn't do it with one arm tied behind their back with us having a service that we couldn't have over here,” said Brian Masse, the Windsor West New Democrat who picked up the cause ad helped ultimately bring the legislation to the finish line.
Now, a year and a half has passed. IGaming launched in April 2022, finally paving the way for Single-sports betting in Ontario.
Experts say igaming was OLG’s priority before turning to land-based casinos.
“Because of the way things are run and bureaucracy, there had to be talks between OLG AGCO and then of course the private land-based operators,” said Robyn McNeil, a managing editor at playcanada.com.
One of the big selling points in passing the legislation was job creation and eliminating the grey market and off-shore sports books.
Early estimates predicted opening a casino sports book could create north of 100 jobs at Caesars alone.
President Kevin LaForet says there are dozens now working in the sportsbook and promises other spin-offs will follow.
“What it does is it drives traffic into the building so you're gonna see more employment, whether it be cocktail servers, bartenders, dealers, things like that because it's an amenity that draws people in,” he said.
Dave Cassidy, the president of Unifor Local 444, which represents unionized Caesars Windsor employees, says time will tell how many jobs this will create, noting the workforce is almost back to pre-pandemic levels.
“I'm not sure that 100 jobs, but we do know that jobs will get created from this,” he said. “I see no downside risks to this whatsoever.”
But the question remains, can the casino compete with now-established igaming?
LaForet believes it all comes down to service.
“Some love that social interaction of going somewhere where there's other people that the excitement and then there's other amenities, food and beverage,” LaForet said.
Measuring the success of in-person sports books will be a matter of personal taste, according to McNeil.
“I think everybody has to up their game a little bit,” said McNeil.
“They really just need to give the people what they want.
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