Casino Rama Profits Off Limits to Provincial Auditors

OTTAWA, Canada – As reported by Canada.com: "Ontario's auditor general says he has no jurisdiction to assess the extent to which more than $1 billion in gambling cash has helped First Nations.

"Jim
Casino Rama is a popular First Nations casino in Ontario, Canada.  McCarter says a new legal opinion concludes that hundreds of millions of dollars in Casino Rama profits are off-limits to provincial auditors. That's because the money never flows through Ontario government coffers, he said in an interview. 'The government never actually sees the money.'

"His independent office consulted an external law firm amid calls from public spending watchdogs for more open scrutiny of how Rama profits are spent.

"…Casino Rama, near Orillia, Ont., opened in 1996 as a means to ease native poverty and promote self-sufficiency. It has cleared more than $1 billion - including $91 million in 2004-05 alone - after winnings and expenses.

"The money is distributed to native communities through the Ontario First Nations Limited Partnership, an oversight agency created as part of a complex deal with the province…"