Quebec’s online gambling revenue soared over the first half of its current fiscal year as the Canadian province’s land-based options went dark due to COVID-19.

Last Friday, the Loto-Quebec provincial gambling monopoly released an update on its financial performance over the first half of its current fiscal year. As of September 30, revenue totaled C$687.4m (US$518.6m), less than half the C$1.4b earned in H1 2019-20, while net income tumbled by three-quarters to C$181.2m.

As with most of the world, Quebec’s retail gambling operations went into an extended deep-freeze this spring as the pandemic took hold. The net effect on H1 2020-21 was across the board declines in all gambling verticals that required customers to be physically present.

Lottery revenue was down by more than one-quarter to C$335.2m, while land-based casino operations fell nearly 65% to C$179.9m and video lottery terminal operations in the province’s bars and bingo halls slid 62.6% to C$174m.