Loto-Québec has revealed the growing importance of online casino and lottery income in the Canadian province after reporting record total revenue and consolidated net income for the first half of the 2022-23 financial year.
Loto-Québec’s registered a 35.4% increase in total revenue to CA$1.466bn (€1.02bn/£877m/US$1.08bn), while consolidated net income rocketed by 37.9% to C$805.3m year-on-year, although several gambling activities were halted between April and the middle of June 2021.
The crown corporation noted that the increases in revenue and net income in comparison with the first half of the last pre-pandemic year were 3.5% and 9.4%, respectively.
Similarly, the cost-to-revenue ratio improved from 31.0% to 27.9%, with Loto-Québec hailing cost-control efforts across the corporation.
Growing online appetite at Loto-Québec
The latest figures, though, underlined the growing appetite for online products.
Revenue from online lottery sales accounted for 12.7% of total segment revenue, compared to 3.4% in the first half of the pre-pandemic fiscal year, while online casino sales accounted for 23.8% of the sector’s total revenue, up from 8.9% in the corresponding pre-pandemic period.
Between April 1 and September 26, 2022, lottery sales decreased by C$29.0m to C$468.3m while sales from casinos and gaming halls amounted to C$551.4m – a sharp 79.7% year-on-year rise.
“At the midpoint of the fiscal year, we are still on track to meet, and even exceed, our budget target. The teams in all of our sectors continued their excellent work, which led to record results, which I am very satisfied with,” said president and CEO Jean-François Bergeron.
“Despite our enthusiasm, we remain cautious given the changing economic context. We are counting on stimulating projects, particularly related to the repositioning of our brand, to stay on the path to success.”
