Canadian Lottery Firm Reports Drop in Profits - 07-21-08

July 21 - One of North America's most successful lottery providers, Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) which is based in Canada, has reported a slight drop in profits from the same period last year, partly due to a smoking ban in the state of Nova Scotia.

ALC reported a net profit of $378.5 million for its current financial year, compared with the $382.9 million it reported last year. Since 1976, ALC has provided a host of lottery games to the Canadian states of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

While only a slight decrease in profits from last year, this marks the third consecutive year for ALC where its profits have dropped. During its last fiscal year, Atlantic Lottery Corporation reported gross lottery ticket sales of $587.4 million, a 4 percent drop from last year, despite the launch of new games.

The company also reported that its video lottery sales dropped by 3 percent $410.8 million, which the company attributed to the recently introduced province-wide ban on smoking in public places, as well as a decrease in the number of lottery gaming terminals in Newfoundland and Labrador.

During the past year, ALC has also had to contend with allegations that its participating retailers have been cheating, forcing the company to rethink its lottery ticketing systems. It also had to defend its decision to award a lucrative online bingo contract (without tender) to Boss Media, a leading Swedish online gambling firm.

Said Atlantic Lottery Corporation CEO and President, Michelle Carinci, 'We view the last year as an important one for our company as well as the lottery industry as a whole. We will continue to provide Canadians with safe, regulated and responsible lottery gaming entertainment.'

Lottery and instant win games offered by ALC include Lotto 6/49, Atlantic 49, Lotto Super 7, Twist, Bucko, Millionaire Life, Atlantic payday, Video Lottery, TAG and many more.