The British Columbia Lottery Corporation has published its financial results for the financial year 2020/21, revealing its total revenue has decreased by 62%.
Total revenues for the period ending 31 March amassed to $965.6m, 62% and $1.67bn lower than the previous year.
The impact of COVID-19 on BCLC has taken its toll, with land-based casino and gaming revenues plummeting to just $200,000 from $1.83bn in 2019/20 as they were forced to close down to stop the spread of the virus.
The significant decrease in revenue was offset slightly by record-breaking lottery takings, which reached $544m, attributable to ‘strong Instant and Keno performance’. This signals a 4.7% increase from the previous year.
Amid the cuts in revenue, BCLC undertook a vast cost-cutting program throughout the year as total outgoings were slashed by 56% to $494m from 2019/20’s $1.12bn.
As a result, BCLC ended the financial year with a total income before tax of $471.6m, and a post-tax income of $429.9m. This is down $944.5m and 68% from the previous year where post-tax income totalled $1.35bn.
Lynda Cavanaugh, Interim President and CEO, commented: “Despite the temporary closures and the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, BCLC generated $430m in net income by capitalising on our diversified product portfolio and managing costs to offset financial pressures as a result of decreased revenue from the closure of gambling facilities.
Notably, revenue from egaming grew year over year by 135%. While this could not offset the losses of a year of gambling facility closures, it demonstrated the value of having a competitive, regulated online gambling option.”
His statement added: “In a year of many challenges, we are proud of our results and the tremendous resilience and innovation on the part of our employees.
“Supporting the health and wellbeing of our players, employees and communities will continue to be a priority as we look to the future and brick-and-mortar gambling facilities returning to pre-pandemic levels of operations.”
