Loto-Quebec has announced its financial results for the current fiscal year which, in line with a beleaguered gaming sector, have been greatly impacted by COVID-19.
The pandemic led to the suspension of nearly all of the lottery’s business activities as of mid-March. At the end of the first half of the year, the period from April 1 to September 28, 2020, total revenues stood at C$687.4m, less than half the C$1.4bn earned in the first half of 2019-20, and net income was C$181.2m.
The lottery, casino and gaming establishment sectors, whose activities gradually resumed during the first half of the year, saw their revenues decline due to the pandemic. Only online gaming revenues increased compared to the same period last year.
Lottery revenue decreased by more than one-quarter to C$335.2m, while land-based casino operations declined nearly 65% to C$179.9m and video lottery terminal operations in the province’s bars and bingo halls fell 62.6% to C$174m.
More positively, the Espace-jeux online gambling site’s revenue saw an increase from the C$66.1m the site reported in the first half of 2019-20, totaling C$166.5m this year. The site nearly topped that total on its online lottery sales alone with C$60.85m, thanks in part to new instant-win online products, while online casino revenue more than doubled to C$105.6m.
Espace-Jeux generated revenue of only C$136m in the fiscal year ending March 31, which shows the growth in revenue afterward was driven mainly by a lack of alternatives for customers.
Loto-Quebec President Lynne Rotier said the lottery increased its responsible gambling messaging efforts via Espace-jeux in response to the surge online. One of these campaigns pushed the concept of setting time and spending limits, while another urged Quebecers to gamble with Espace-jeux and not with internationally licensed alternatives.
Rotier added the lottery was keeping tabs on all operations in order to prioritize “the health and well-being of our employees and our customers”.
Loto-Quebec had to suspend some of its activities again at the end of September and in October in regions that were on red alert. The activities affected are those of casinos and gaming halls, as well as video lottery terminals, network bingo and Kinzo