The British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) has posted record revenue of CAD$2.59bn for the 2018-19 fiscal year, an increase of 3.5% from the prior year.
While casino and community gaming – comprising land-based, non-lottery gambling – fell slightly in the fiscal year ended 31 March, 2019, the total for the sector remained above BCLC’s projections.
Slot machines remained by far the largest part of BCLC’s revenues, contributing $1.40bn, up from $1.37bn last year. Poker also posted an increase in revenue to $23.6m, 18.6% above the budgeted figure of $19.9m.
Table games declined in revenue from $492.7m to $454.1m, but remained over budget, while bingo was under budget, declining to $23.0m.
Meanwhile, lottery and egaming revenue increased from $596.3m in 2017-18 to $686.1m in 2018-19. Lottery income increased from $476.4m to $536.3m, exceeding budget projections by 14.2%. For egaming, revenues increased from $119.9m to $149.8m.
BCLC reported average revenue per capita of $533, up from $510 last year.
Expenditures for casino and community gaming increased to $821.9m, while lottery and egaming costss increased to $222.0m.
Expenditures from capital asset amortization and depreciation also increased, from $68.9m to $69.6m, but these expenditures remained well under the budget figure of $77.6 million.
Those figures meant the corporation posted a record $1.42bn in net income for the fiscal year. $983.5m of that income came from casino and community gaming, while lottery and egaming was responsible for $432.0m =.
“Our increase in net income was achieved despite declines in revenue from labour disputes at five casino and community gaming locations and the changing table game landscape,” board chair Peter Kappel and president & chief executive Jim Lightbody said.
“We were able to capitalize on opportunities, including the higher than average number of Lotto Max jackpot rolls, strong slot performance in brick-and-mortar facilities and strategic investments in new product offerings such as Live Casino on PlayNow.com.
“We are proud of our results from this past year and we are committed to the responsible growth of our business. We will continue to work closely with government and make prudent investment decisions while looking for ways to operate our business more efficiently and effectively, in the best interest of British Columbians.”
The corporation’s target income for 2019-20 will be $1.41bn, slightly below the actual figure achieved in the past fiscal year. For 2020-21, the target income will be $1.43bn.