The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. has announced that it has reached a lease agreement in principle with the operators of Ajax Downs.

The OLG issued a press release on Tuesday, February 26 announcing the tentative agreement and also stating that it hopes for the agreement to become official by March 15, 2013.

The release has quoted OLG President and CEO Rod Phillips as saying that the OLG is "pleased to have reached lease agreements in principle for our slots operations at 12 of 14 sites," adding that the OLG is continuing "to hold discussions with the remaining site holder and are hopeful that a positive outcome to those discussions is near for all facilities."

At this point, the only Ontario raceways home to OLG slot machines that haven't signed a tentative agreement with the provincial gaming body is the Great Canadian Gaming Corp.-operated Flamboro Downs and Georgian Downs.

Last week, Innisfil Mayor Barb Baguley went on the record as saying that the OLG has offered assurances that slot-machine gaming will take place in Innisfil, home of Georgian Downs, although at this point there is no guarantee that the slots will remain at Georgian in the future.

The contents of the OLG's announcement regarding its tentative deal with Ajax Downs appear below.

OLG Reaches Agreement In Principle For Lease At Ajax Downs

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) is pleased to announce that it has reached a lease agreement in principle for its slots operations at Ajax Downs.

OLG has provided the site holder with a Letter of Intent, which sets out the general intentions and business arrangements, subject to approvals, between OLG and the site. OLG previously announced it has reached agreements in principle for its slots operations with 11 other site holders.

"We are pleased to have reached lease agreements in principle for our slots operations at 12 of 14 sites," said Rod Phillips, President and CEO of OLG. "We continue to hold discussions with the remaining site holder and are hopeful that a positive outcome to those discussions is near for all facilities."

OLG hopes to finalize the agreement with the site holder by March 15, 2013. "We have longstanding and positive relationships with our site holders and look forward to working with them in the future," said Phillips.

OLG is modernizing lottery and gaming in Ontario so that it can continue to support the people and the Province of Ontario. Once this modernization is complete, OLG will have increased its net contribution to the Province by $1.3 billion annually, while creating thousands of jobs and driving more than $3 billion in capital investment across Ontario.

(OLG)