Pickering Casino Resort reached its fifth year of operations in 2026, but the property visitors know today did not arrive all at once. The casino opened in July 2021, while the hotel, arena, restaurants and other resort features followed in later phases.
A phased opening, not a single moment
The City of Pickering dates the casino’s opening to July 2021. That date matters because it started the City’s role as a host gaming municipality and the flow of non-tax gaming revenue under its Municipal Contribution Agreement with Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
The broader resort story continued after the first casino opening. Great Canadian Entertainment opened the 275-room hotel in January 2023. In April 2023, the company marked the property’s official grand opening with a sold-out Bryan Adams concert at The Arena, a ceremonial opening and a $50,000 donation to the Ajax-Pickering Hospital Foundation.
What had been added by the official grand opening
Great Canadian’s April 2023 announcement described a $500-million destination anchored in the Durham Live entertainment campus. At that point, the resort included the casino, a 275-room hotel, The Arena, dining venues, meeting space and other hospitality features.
This distinction between the 2021 casino opening and the 2023 official resort opening explains why different milestones appear in public accounts. Both are part of the same timeline: operations began in 2021, and the larger destination continued to develop.
A municipal story as well as a visitor story
The casino’s development also created a continuing public-finance story. The City reports that, as of July 2025, it had received $65,008,832 in non-tax gaming revenue from OLG since the July 2021 opening. The City says that money has supported current and capital budgets, with a portion also shared with the Region of Durham.
Future instalments in this weekly series will follow that history in order: the hosting agreement, the hotel and arena openings, the regional revenue-sharing arrangement, the poker room, and the community projects the City says were supported by casino revenue.
Official sources
- City of Pickering: Casino Revenues (verified September 19, 2026)
- Great Canadian Entertainment: $500M Pickering Casino Resort officially opens (verified September 19, 2026)
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