The British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) has declared that steps taken during the COVID-19 outbreak have resulted in a decrease in its earnings for the 2019-20 fiscal period.
BCLC’s income was C$25.3 billion (equal to £14.5 billion/€16.2 billion/$19.5 billion), a 2.3% drop compared to the 2018-19 fiscal period, and below BCLC’s prediction of C$26.4 billion for the 12 months concluding March 31, 2020.
Casinos and community gaming continued to be the operator’s primary income source, generating C$18.3 billion, a 3.7% year-over-year decline.
All segments except poker witnessed revenue reductions in the 2019-20 fiscal period. Slot machine revenue fell 2.3% to C$13.7 billion; table game revenue dropped 8.2% to C$417.2 million; bingo revenue decreased 9.6% to C$20.8 million; while poker revenue increased 1.7% to C$24 million.
BCLC stated that casino and community gaming revenue was C$152.2 million lower than anticipated, primarily due to the effects of COVID-19.
The province of British Columbia’s directives compelled gaming operators to shut down all their establishments in March, and these venues remain closed.
Despite this downturn, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) experienced a 1.8% rise in lottery and online gaming income. The department’s overall revenue reached $698.2 million, exceeding its fiscal year budget of $652.6 million by $45.6 million.
This growth was fueled by the online gaming sector, which saw a 19.5% surge in revenue to $179 million. BCLC attributed this increase to enhancements made to its PlayNow brand online gaming offerings.
Conversely, lottery revenue experienced a 2.2% decline to $519.2 million, as sales plummeted due to the closure of retail outlets in the latter half of the fiscal year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can find the complete report at iGB North America.
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