TORONTO, Ont. – A grassroots group calling itself ‘No Casino Toronto’ is warning a gamiing facility in the city won’t bring the benefits the province claims it will.

In fact, the group, who unveiled its campaign tuesday, said a downtown casino will be detrimental to local jobs and tourism.

Group spokesperson Maureen Lynett doesn’t believe claims that a casino will boost tourism and create spin-off jobs in the neighbourhood where its built.

“The last thing a casino operator wants is their patrons leaving the building to spend money in the surrounding businesses,” Lynett explained. “Study after study show that a mega-casino will cannabalize the local tourist, entertainment and restaurant businesses.”

Women’s advocate Beverly McAliesh said a casino also means prostitution.

“There’s so much money to make off the backs of these women when you have a casino in the city that the greed takes over,” McAliesh said. “As usual, they will be the collataral damage.”

Fred Luck, owner of Fred’s Not Here restaurant in the Entertainment District is blunt about the tourism claims.

“It’s all BS. Nobody has got any study that’ll increase tourism. I don’t think it’ll happen,” Luck said.

The group said a casino will actually kill jobs and increase prostitution other crime.

The group launched an online petition.

The group plans to lobby city councillors not to back a casino.

A staff report on a possible casino goes to the city’s executive committee in November.

Ontario Place, the Exhibition Grounds, and the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, have been talked about as possible locations for a casino.