The Ontario government has forecasted the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) to see a major drop in revenue in this fiscal year.
According to revenue projections published by the Ontario government, the OLG is forecasted to only make $200m in revenue by the end of the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
Net income from the lottery is lower by $400m largely due to the impact of the continued shutdown of casinos caused by the COVID-19 pandemic through the second quarter of the fiscal year.
This projection is minuscule in comparison to the lottery’s three-year high in 2019 and 2020 when it made $2.3bn in gambling revenue, funds that support provincial government program spending.
The Ontario government imposed strict public health-related measures in response to the pandemic, shutting down all casinos across the province, to which officials said a “significant portion” of revenue comes from.
Even when a large geographic portion of the province moved to stage three of Ontario’s reopening, the lottery’s ability to collect revenue was affected by a cap of 50 customers in casinos.
Revenues from Ontario’s government business enterprises (GBEs) are projected to decline sharply in 2020-21 mainly due to the impact of COVID-19 on OLG, but combined revenues from GBEs are expected to rise over the forecast period, returning to pre-pandemic levels in 2022-23.