Slot Cuts on the Table in Ontario

It's not like we weren't warned.

Today in a special report in the Toronto Star, it was announced that the provincial (defacto) austerity czar, economist Don Drummond, has put slots at racetracks "on the table".

• [He] recommends that Ontarians play slots at “alternative sites” to racetracks so they won’t have to hike out of town to play. 

Ontario, the last decade, has been Europe-lite.  The government has raised taxes, while spending like drunken sailors, racking up tremendous debt. Last month, Moody's put the province on credit watch.

Someone has to pay the piper, and where will the government go? Taking a bigger slice from racetracks and horsemen seems to be the logical first place. We'll see if this trail balloon survives.

In fiscal 2011, about $340 million went to purses and tracks, according to the OLG Annual Report.