Strong growth in online revenue at Espace Jeux
News on 3 Oct 2017
News on 3 Oct 2017
Loto Quebec, a gambling monopoly operated by the Canadian provincial government of Quebec, released its FY-2016-2017 results last week, reporting strong growth in revenues from its Espace Jeux online gambling division.
Espace Jeux delivered revenue growth of 30 percent year-on-year at Cdn$ 85.9 million, although Loto Quebec appears optimistic that the possible implementation of the province’s notorious Act 74 will enable it to increase that figure substantially in the years ahead.
Online gambling contributed 1.9 percent of overall Loto Quebec group revenues during the reporting period.
Our readers may recall that the province’s Act 74, passed last year but not yet implemented due to legal challenges, essentially gives Loto Quebec an online monopoly strengthened by enforcement regulations that mandate ISP site-blocking on international competitors…all ostensibly on grounds of public health and consumer safety.
The company would have a say on which, if any, international competitors would be acceptable for licensing by the province.
The Loto Quebec report notes that the monopoly has plans to generate a PR campaign designed to persuade public opinion that interfering with the internet through domain blocking is justified and important in the interests of said public health and consumer protection.
The protectionism around Espace Jeux has already ensured that it has a home advantage, with recent player statistics showing the Loto Quebec online subsidiary led the market in August with almost 275,000 registered players, more than twice those registered by nearest rival The Stars Group (107,000).
