British Columbia’s government-owned gambling monopoly earned record income in its most recent fiscal year, thanks in part to an equally record-breaking online performance.
This week, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) released its fiscal 2017-18 report for the 12 months ending March 31, 2018. The Crown Corporation reported record revenue of C$3.27b (US$2.53b), up C$123m over 2016-17’s result, while net income rose C$61.5m to a record C$1.4b (US$1.08b).
BCLC’s casino and community gaming division – 15 casinos, 18 community centers, two racecourse casinos and five bingo halls – reported record revenue of C$1.95b. The revenue gain was largely due to slots rising nearly 7% to C$1.37b, while table games were up less than 1% to C$492.7m.
That meek table game performance is almost certainly to increased regulatory scrutiny following the ongoing scandal involving rampant money laundering at BC casinos, most prominently Richmond’s River Rock Casino, which is managed by Great Canadian Gaming Corp.