Poker Writer
Niagara Falls is set to expand its casino market after the Ontario government announced an agreement to allow for more casinos in the area. The agreement is between the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. and MGE Niagara Entertainment. The latter currently runs the two casinos in the Niagara Falls area, Casino Niagara and Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort.
Now, MGE Niagara Entertainment has agreed to remove its exclusivity rights to allow for other operators.
The mayor of the city promoted the idea of Niagara Falls becoming a casino hotspot:
We’re going to get more of those. We’re going to get more spas. We’re going to get more restaurants. Some nicer hotels. We haven’t had a hotel built in 18 years in Niagara Falls. It’s going to create thousands of new, good-paying jobs.
He also critiqued the idea of monopolies and said that allowing more operators to build casinos would create a healthier, more bustling environment.
Nearby casinos on the New York side of the border will also feel some pressure from the coming competition. Almost immediately after the reveal of more competition on the Canada side, the parent company of Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino announced a $47 million hotel renovation project. It’s set to be completed in December 2027 and may help insulate the property from losing too much business.
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Destination Niagara
Ontario Premier Doug Ford promoted a plan in late 2025 intended to double the number of visitors to the already popular Niagara Falls. He called the plan “Destination Niagara.” While Niagara is known worldwide for its majestic waterfalls, widely considered some of the most picturesque in the world, the rest of the destination can be made into a larger one, according to Ford.
The new casinos are just one part of the plan that would also include theme parks. Organizers hope to increase the average stay of a visitor from two days to as long as a week.
Ford and the mayor of Niagara Falls both know that Niagara Falls will never be Las Vegas. But the addition of casinos is about more than just gaming. It is also about the other facilities that come with them.
Poker in Niagara Falls
The current casinos in Niagara Falls both have a history with poker. Fallsview Casino used to have a lively poker room and hosted World Poker Tour tournaments. There were about 10 WPT events held there from 2006 to 2020: three from 2006-2008 and seven annually from 2014-2020. The most recent additions drew from 500-700 entries, making it one of the smaller WPT events.
But the poker room at Fallsview no longer exists, as it was discontinued to allocate more space for table games and slots. It never returned after the COVID pandemic.
MGE Niagara Entertainment decided to consolidate all poker into Casino Niagara, which has an 18-table poker room.
The idea of opening poker rooms could be attractive to other operators. Especially if Niagara Falls becomes the bigger tourist destination that Ford imagines, the poker market in the area should grow.
