Loto-Quebec’s profits flat despite online gambling surge

Quebec’s provincial gaming monopoly reported flat profits in its most recent fiscal year despite a nearly 30% boost in its online gambling revenue.

Loto Quebec issued its latest annual report on Friday, detailing the Canadian province’s government-run gambling performance over the 12 months ending March 31, 2017. Total revenue over that span rose 2.1% year-on-year to C$3.64b (US $2.75b), while net income was up a more modest 0.3% to C$1.23b.

The Espace-Jeux online gambling site reported total revenue of C$85.9m, up 29.7% over the previous year and well above Loto Quebec’s target of C$75.4m. Loto-Quebec said the online gains were strong across the casino, lottery and sports betting verticals, with “particularly significant” improvements in mobile gaming activity. Espace-jeux’s registered customer base rose 26% year-on-year.

Loto Quebec says it is proceeding with plans to consolidate its online operations into “a single virtual store” by October 2017, grouping together its online casino, poker, lotteries and the Mise-o-jeu sports betting operations under a single umbrella.