It’s inevitable that North Bay will be home to a casino.

So says city councillor Mark King, who is against North Bay having one.

He made the statement after a presentation from Reverend Jane Howe last night (Tuesday), pointing out it appears Council’s mind is already made up.

“Because the balance of Council is on a train track and they’re headed to the station,” he says.

Reverend Howe says that’s disappointing.

“Very discouraged that they feel this is something that they should proceed with. We’re just not convinced that they’ve proved that this is going to be any benefit to the community,” she said.

There were 4 presentations against a casino and mainly dealt with the effects of gambling addiction.

Mike Ianiro’s presentation focused on the economic toll and existing businesses losing money.

“It’s going to come right out of our economy.  All those businesses downtown, or at the malls, or where ever people are hanging out, instead of going downtown for a beer Friday night, they’re going to go to the casino and spend their money,” he says.

Of the 70 local businesses he surveyed, he says 43 of them are against a casino while only 9 are in favour.

18 were undecided.

In December, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation announced Gateway Casinos and Entertainment has been selected to build facilities in North Bay and Kenora, provided all the required approvals are met.

Gateway also received the contract to operate 9 other facilities, including OLG Casinos in Thunder Bay and Sault Ste Marie and OLG Slots in Sudbury.

Nearly five years ago, in May 2012, North Bay was identified as a potential site for a gaming facility.

OLG previously announced the maximum number of live gaming table positions in North Bay would be 120, with a maximum of 300 slot machines.