Online gambling revenue in the Canadian province of British Columbia enjoyed a record surge in the most recent fiscal year even before COVID-19 shut down land-based options.

On Monday, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) issued its annual report for the 12 months ending March 31, during which the Crown Corporation generated revenue of C$2.53b (US$1.94b), a 2.2% decline from fiscal 2018-19’s total. Net income fell 4.8% to just under C$1.35b.

BC closed its casinos in mid-March due to COVID-19, but this only negatively impacted the fiscal year’s final month. Nonetheless, BCLC’s ‘Casino & Community Gaming Operations’ reported revenue of C$1.83b, down 3.7% year-on-year, while net income dipped 5.5% to C$929.3m.

Slot machine revenue fell 2.3% to C$1.37b while table games fell 8.1% to C$417m. The table decline is slightly larger than the previous year, suggesting that the province’s post-scandal efforts to more properly observe anti-money laundering (AML) compliance continue to act as a drag on revenue.