A week ago, Loto-Québec’s management was all smiles, or almost, with a profit already in its pocket that exceeds the total gains for its entire last financial year 2020-2021. That was before Omicron …
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On Monday, Loto-Québec published the results for its second quarter 2021-2022, which ended on September 27. The state-owned company made profits of $ 388 million during this period, a jump of 58% from a year earlier.
Since April, the start of the financial year at Loto-Québec, the crown corporation has recorded a profit of $ 584 million. By comparison, for the whole of the previous fiscal year, due to the closure for months of gaming establishments, Loto-Québec had collected $ 458 million.
Even the press release published by Loto-Québec on Monday speaks of “annual targets […] on track to be reached ”for this year and a six-month sales record for the lottery sector ($ 514 million).
In interview with The newspaper, the President and Chief Executive Officer, Jean-François Bergeron, conceded that smiles have given way to uncertainty in recent days. The Legault government finally announced the closure of casinos and gambling halls from 5 p.m. on Monday.
More details to come …