Solid third quarter for Loto-Quebec

Quebec’s provincial government owned betting and lotteries enterprise Loto-Quebec has reported revenues to date in its fiscal year up 5.6 percent year-on-year at Cdn$ 2.759 billion, with net income up 9.2 percent at Cdn$ 1.019 billion following what a spokesman claimed was the eleventh successive quarterly improvement.

The lottery division reported that increased revenue flowed from sales of the new terminal-based Grande Vie lottery (+Cdn$ 38.6 million), launched in October 2016, whilst instant lottery sales grew (+Cdn$ 32.7 million), as did event betting sales (+Cdn$ 8.1 million).

In 2017, Loto‑Québec paid out more lottery prizes worth over Cdn$ 1 million than ever before, awarding 107 such prizes and producing 132 millionaires.

The group’s four casino operations reported revenues up between 5 and 11 percent, with total visits up 4.6 percent or 320,000 individuals.

Revenue from other gaming establishments rose slightly due to good gaming hall performance, where patronage continued to grow. Gaming halls welcomed some 42,000 more visitors (+6.5 percent) than for the same period last year.

The reconfiguration of the video lottery terminal (VLT) network in bars and brasseries continues as planned. By the program’s halfway mark, over 500 VLTs had been withdrawn from the network.

Loto‑Québec’s online gaming site Espace Jeux has generated Cdn$ 82.9 million since the start of the fiscal year representing a favourable variance of Cdn$ 24.6 million.

Loto-Québec raked in Cdn$ 340.5 million in profits in its fiscal third quarter, an increase of nearly 16 percent compared with the same period last year.

Revenues followed a similar course, totalling Cdn$ 945 million over the 91-day period ending Dec. 25, a y-o-y increase of more than 10 percent.