Online gaming boosts Loto-Québec’s results
A sharp increase in online gaming revenues has helped Canadian provincial lottery operator Loto-Québec to post an improved financial outlook for the 2017-18 fiscal year.
Loto-Québec’s net profits improved by 8.5% to C$1.335bn (£764m/€877m/$1.02bn), with turnover edging up by 3.7% as the operator reported improved results across all key metrics.
However, it was the performance of online gaming – albeit currently the operator’s smallest division, through the EspaceJeux.com platform – which stood out, with sales rocketing by 37.5% to hit C$118m, improving on the momentum of the previous year, when the division posted a 29.7% increase.
Online casino revenue improved by 40.6% to C$64.3m, while online lottery sales improved by 34% to C$53.7m.
The results would appear to vindicate Loto-Québec’s decision to bring all of its online products under the same umbrella earlier this year, including bingo, casino, lotteries, poker and sports betting.
Lottery operations continued to be the operator’s primary revenue-generator, accounting for sales of $1.881bn, a 2.9% rise. Loto-Québec’s four casinos generated total sales of C$906.9m – an 8.1% increase.
The dividend contribution to the public purse increased by 8.7% to C$1.31bn – C$169m more than the target set by Finance Minister Carlos Leitao.
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