Press release

Montréal, June 14, 2018 – Finance Minister Carlos Leitão submitted Loto-Québec’s 2017-2018 Annual Report to the National Assembly this morning. The Corporation’s total revenues reached $3.769 billion, which is $133.6 million higher (+3.7%) compared to the previous fiscal year. Loto-Québec paid a dividend of $1.310 billion, or $104.9 million more than last year, exceeding the target announced by the government by $169.0 million.

Quote

“Our excellent performance is attributable to the combined efforts of all our business sectors to make our offerings more attractive and apply efficient management practices in compliance with our responsible commercialization framework,” explained Lynne Roiter, President and CEO of Loto‑Québec.

Highlights

• Lottery sales are on the upswing. Quebecers enthusiastically adopted Grande Vie, the pan-Canadian product launched in October 2016, as demonstrated by Loto-Québec’s significant market share of 33.4%. These impressive results are also attributable to instant lotteries (+13.9%) and event betting (+12.3%), which were very popular this past financial year.
• Revenue growth in the four casinos is mainly due to the focus placed on varied entertainment offerings. Casinos recorded almost 290,000 additional visits (+3.1%) as compared to 2016‑2017, a year where a 3.0% increase in visits over FY2015-2016 was recorded.
• The gaming establishment sector (video lottery terminals in bars and brasseries, as well as gaming, bingo and Kinzo halls) recorded slightly higher revenues. Revenues from video lottery terminals in bars and brasseries were relatively stable, or declined in areas targeted by the VLT withdrawal plan. On the other hand, the two gaming halls continued to put in a good showing. Bingo continued to be affected by the general industry downswing.
• The popularity of our online gaming site is growing year over year. Over the past fiscal year, total revenues for all types of games combined reached $118.0 million, or an increase of 37.5%. In early 2018, Loto-Québec launched its new lotoquebec.com portal to bring together all types of online games in a single location. The initiative simplified navigation between all our product lines in order to provide customers with a more fluid and user-friendly online experience.
• Loto-Québec’ overall performance is improving thanks to a sound social responsibility initiative that provides a positive contribution to communities from social, economic and environment standpoints. The responsible commercialization of our offerings is at the very heart of that initiative. The World Lottery Association (WLA) has renewed the Corporation’s Security Control Standard Certification, which attests to the security and integrity of its operational practices.

The 2017-2018 annual report [French version, PDF – 7 MB] is available on Loto-Québec’s website. The English version will be available at a later date.

¹ Prizes paid to lottery and gaming hall (bingo and Kinzo) winners.

² The gaming establishment sector includes video lottery terminals in bars and brasseries, as well as gaming, bingo and Kinzo halls.

³ Revenues generated by lotoquebec.com are included in lottery or casino income, as appropriate.