Loto-Québec has reported double-digit yearly increases in both revenue and profits for last quarter, driven by strong performance in its casino and gaming sector.
The crown corporation published its financial figures for Q2 of the Canadian fiscal year, running from July 1 to Sept. 30. Revenues totalled $814.2 million for the quarter, an increase of 16.1% with the same period last year, boosted by a quarter that was a week longer. Net profits were up even more, rising 18.5% to $421.6 million.
The casinos and gaming halls sector saw the largest increase, with revenues up 32.2% year-over-year to $333.9 million. The crown corporation put the growth down to the resolution of the labour dispute that had disrupted its casinos in Q2 2023-24.
The lottery sector recorded revenues of $255.1 million, an increase of 11.8%. The gaming establishment sector, which encompasses VLTs in bars and restaurants as well as event betting and Kinzo and network bingo, saw revenues climb 3.3% to $231.8 million.
“Our excellent results, obtained despite the economic context, allow us to be confident about achieving our annual net profit target,” said President and CEO Jean-François Bergeron in a statement. The growth in Q2 comes after an underwhelming Q1 in which revenue and profit fell year-over-year, something Bergeron attributed to the struggles of the hospitality industry.
Bergeron intends to build more gaming halls
Through the first two quarters of the Canadian fiscal year from April 1 to Sept. 30, Loto-Québec’s total revenues are just over $1.5 billion and its net income is $771.3 million, up 6.5% and 4.7%, respectively. Revenues from casinos and gaming halls are at $608.9 million, the most of the three sectors, and on track to beat last year’s new record of $1.1 billion.
The crown corporation intends to capitalize by opening more regional gaming halls across the province, Bergeron told La Presse this week. Gaming halls offer various types of entertainment, including slot machines like the ones installed in major casinos in Montreal and other cities.
“There are 17 administrative regions in Quebec. We’re not going to put them everywhere. I don’t think we’ll go to the far north, for example, but there will be others… Several municipalities are contacting us.”
The crown corporation also recently confirmed details of a new 200-room hotel next to Casino de Montreal, which Bergeron believes will boost its standing as a leading all-in-one entertainment destination.
Loto-Québec says it has captured 60% of online market
Speaking separately to the Journal de Montreal, Bergeron also called out unregulated retail and online casinos operating in the province, asserting that “they have questionable practices, they have questionable shareholders, they have interests that are questionable and ways of doing things that are also questionable.”
Per the Journal, Bergeron said that the lottery continues to gain ground in online casino and sports betting. The crown corporation estimates that it currently holds 60% of this market, while its longer-term objective is 70%. Data from H2 Gambling Capital shown to Canadian Gaming Business suggests that Loto-Québec’s online market share across online casino, poker and bingo (but not including lottery) was more like 44% for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024.
The crown corporation has struck numerous notable deals in the online gaming vertical in recent months, including adding Play’n GO games to its platform back in May.
More recently, this fall it launched the first cross-platform mystery jackpot using Light & Wonder’s new cross-platform technology and became the first operator in Canada to offer Inspired Entertainment’s new Hybrid Dealer Roulette game.