High interest rates and inflation may eat into the purchasing power of Quebecers, but the lottery and Loto-Québec casinos continue to do good business.
The state-owned company reports a net profit of 1.5 billion for the 2023-2034 financial year, an amount returned entirely to its government shareholder. This is a slight decrease compared to the previous financial year, which was exceptional. Revenues remained roughly stable, at 2.9 billion, in a year marked by a casino employee strike.
The president of Loto-Québec believes that these good results in a difficult economic context can be explained by the company’s efforts to reduce its operating costs and by the improvement in the offering of entertainment products, which appeal to younger.
“The investment in entertainment is more important with the new generation,” he said in an interview with The Press.
Currently, Loto-Québec’s revenues come approximately equally from lotteries, casinos and gaming halls and gaming establishments.
Improving the entertainment offering remains a priority for Loto-Québec, which wants to attract more young adults. “We want to remain relevant to the customer,” says its CEO. Demographics change so we adjust.”
An example of this adjustment is ARcade, an interactive experience designed by Moment Factory that occupies an entire floor of the Montreal casino where there is no gambling.
Online gaming is also an avenue of development for Loto-Québec, which wants to both attract younger players and take market share from illegal sites. In two years, the number of games offered online by the state company has increased from 1000 to 1600, its president said.
Loto-Québec has abandoned its plan for a gaming hall near the Bell Center, after a favorable opinion from the Montreal Public Health Department. “A missed opportunity,” Jean-François Bergeron continues to believe.
On the other hand, its project to build a hotel adjacent to the Montreal Casino, which had been lying in the pipeline for some time, was launched.
The consolidation of the games offering, currently spread across too many addresses, is still in the company’s plans, according to its president.