British Columbia PlayNow.com Delivers Top Results

Only one of Canada’s provincial gambling monopolies is doing well and that is the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC). It has reported record numbers for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2016. These results were achieved due to the remarkable growth of its online gambling division PlayNow.com, which was the Corporation’s fastest growing segment. BCLC enjoyed record profit of CA$1.31b in the fiscal 2015-16, which stood at 4.7% more than it earned in previous year. Total revenue also set a new record at CA$3.1b, CA$197.5m more than in the fiscal 2014-15. The Corporation proudly pointed out that it was the only one of Canada’s provincial gaming monopolies not to suffer a year-on-year revenue decline.

These results could not have been achieved without the amazing contribution from PlayNow.com. For the fiscal year 2015-16 the revenue target set for PlayNow.com was SA$115.8m. The online gambling body racked up revenue of CA$135.5m, which was an unprecedented 24% increase on a year-on-year basis. The pace of growth was 4% better than that achieved in 2014-15. PlayNow.com’s revenue stands at more than twice the amount generated by Loto-Quebec’s Espacejeux.com over the same period. The success of the BCLC online gambling division demonstrates that the provincial governments require solid management and not draconian measures in order to further state controlled online gambling.

BCLC stated that this could be achieved because of faster introduction of new casino games and other product enhancements. The sports betting arm of PlayNow.com began taking election wagers in 2014, a first for any Canada based operator. The US election prop bets are the most popular type of novelty wagering on PlayNow.com and should contribute significantly in the current year. BCLC revealed that most of its bettors are backing Hillary Clinton to win the poll this November.

BCLC acknowledged a number of other contributing factors as well. It pointed out that the falling Canadian dollar discouraged many gamblers from crossing over the border to play in US casinos. Some really big lottery hits got more Canadians to buying tickets. The Corporation’s lottery revenue jumped 15.8% to CA$1.15b, which was the biggest growth not only among all Canadian provinces but also among the US states over the reporting period. There were some negatives as well. The VIP table gaming revenue fell by 7% to CA$516.5m as had been expected. Land-based poker revenue fell 6% to CA$19.8m and bingo slipped 4.6% to CA$71.8m. This was offset by a 5% rise in slots revenue to CA$1.2b.

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