Casino gaming revenue continues to stand out for Loto-Québec as the provincial lottery operator faces calls for the creation of an iGaming market in its own backyard.
The company’s latest financial statement, covering 1 April-29 December, showed casinos and gaming halls as the largest segment for the company – with revenue coming in at CA$976.6m (£536.7m).
While lotteries may be the company’s namesake, this segment was the second largest for the company with revenue of $731m. Revenue from gaming establishments followed at $616.4m.
Group-wide revenue stood at $2.29bn for the quarter, up 2.6% on the same period in 2024 ($2.23bn) the year prior. Consolidated net income was up 0.6% to $1.139bn.
Jean-François Bergeron, President and Chief Executive Officer of Loto-Quebec, said: “Our growing results reflect an organization in motion, supported by committed teams working to evolve our offering across all our sectors.
“This performance stems from our steady progress since the fiscal year began.”
Doubling down on gaming
Gaming has become big business for Loto-Quebec. It’s not particularly surprising then that the provincial lottery has not taken calls for the creation of an online gaming market in Quebec particularly well.
As it stands, just one Canadian province has a regulated multi-licence gaming market, Ontario. The province will soon be joined by another, Alberta, which has plans to launch its own regulated market later this year.
A newly formed organisation, the Québec Online Gaming Coalition (QOGC), presented a brief to the Quebec government earlier this month claiming the province could benefit from tax revenue of up to CA$300m from a regulated market. The organisation’s members include DraftKings and Flutter Entertainment, among others.
Loto-Québec condemned the coalition as consisting of ‘foreign companies that do not create value in Québec’. Its main criticisms were that the creation of a multi-licence market would be a disaster for player protection, drawing negative parallels to Ontario.
The firm’s latest financials show there is likely a commercial interest in it too. With gaming standing out as a huge earner for the lottery, the prospect of competition, including firms with experience of both Ontario and the US markets, could damage Loto-Québec’s gaming ambitions.
The company plans to open a fourth gaming hall at the Delta Hotel in Saguenay, for example, though its plans for 2026 do not focus entirely on gaming. It is also working to relocate video lottery terminals in a bid to promote socialisation and foster higher standards.
“The evolution of our offering remains aligned with our responsible commercialization principles,” Bergeron commented. “We’ve also rolled out several initiatives related to our Wise Play brand to foster low-risk gaming practices and remind players that chance is an integral part of gaming.
“Attendance has increased in our casinos and gaming halls, as well as on our gaming website. The average spending at our casinos remains stable at around $100 per visit. In addition, the holiday season has been especially vibrant at our gaming locations, confirming yet again that they’re attractive, safe and welcoming places to come together.”