Loto-Quebec online lottery sales up 375%
Province operator sees surge in online ticket purchases as sales of chance games in Canada contract
Online lottery sales in the province of Quebec rose 375% during the first quarter of FY2014, according to government operator Loto-Quebec.
The rise in online sales for the three month period ending 24 June, which increased from $800,000 to $3m, was boosted by the addition of new online games during May.
Overall, online lottery sales contributed to around 1% of the total which amounted to $421m, up 2.1% year-on-year.
According to the operator, the increase in turnover was “achieved in a context where the games of chance industry in Canada is slowing down”.
According to Statistics Canada, Canadians reported spending 2.6% less on games of chance during the first half of 2013, compared to the same period in 2012.
The news comes after Loto-Québec expanded its casino supply deal with International Game Technology to incorporate mobile gaming products.
The agreement will see the operator granted access to IGT’s entire online and mobile games library, via a full integration into the provider’s remote game server (RGS).
This follows a deal agreed last year which saw IGT provide Loto-Québec’s EspaceJeux brand with four games initially, before launching more than 30 casino and poker-style titles by the end of 2012.