CitySSMCity Council received an update on the local lottery and gaming sector earlier this week. Economic Development Corporation CEO Tom Dodds described the current situation as a ‘crossroads’ — a time where a decision has to be made on whether or not this is an industry wants to aggressively pursue or not. Dodds says one area the EDC hopes to develop is a permanent Lottery and Gaming Data Centre…

Dodds adds for every innovation or information technology job created, three more jobs result. He mentions a recent event that earned a lot of interest in Sault Ste. Marie. Sponsored by the EDC, the province and the federal government, about 100 people representing Lottery and Gaming in London, England were in attendance for that event. Dodds says it’s a high-risk, high-reward business with jobs at stake. He adds work continues to develop a hard location for a Lottery and Gaming data centre…with rewards to follow…

The current data centre operates through broadband, with Ontario Lottery and Gaming as its only tenant. A broadband line from private sector networks such as Rogers and Telus goes across the river into the telecommunications network in the United States and another goes along Highway 17 and on into Southern Ontario. A ‘particular’ site in the community is being looked at for the hard location, with construction scheduled to start as early as this summer. Questions remain on the issue of a casino — Dobbs says work continues on that front…

Dodds adds that more time has been spent on this sector than the EDC would have liked to have spent. What is left now is for a decision to be made on whether or not Lottery and Gaming is a priority, with a serious effort made to put a proper business structure in place in Sault Ste. Marie.