So far, Sask Lotteries has been able to weather the storm brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. (File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Trevor Redden

Lotto Leverage

Scratch ‘N Win tickets a popular item in Saskatchewan amid pandemic

Jul 12, 2020 | 8:00 AM

There are some industries that appear to be pandemic-proof, and lotteries may be one of them.

According to the Western Canada Lottery Corporation [WCLC], lottery sales in Saskatchewan from Apr. 1 to now are up by about four per cent overall versus last year. This growth came even though many retailers were closed to the public for a portion of that period.

The major driver of revenues for Sask Lotteries was Zing [Scratch ‘N Win] sales, which were up 44 per cent versus last year.

Understandably, the category seeing the biggest drop was sports gaming. With professional sports on hold, Sask Lotteries saw a decrease of 96 per cent in Sport Select versus a year ago. Another area seeing a drop were draw-based games including national Lotto Max and Lotto 6/49 as well as regional draw games. Cumulative draw-based sales in Saskatchewan were down five per cent versus last year.

Kevin van Egdom, Director of Communications for WCLC, said there were some big wins that kept draw numbers strong during a tough stretch.

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“The impact on draw-based games was more prevalent in April and early May, when more players were choosing to stay home, and we saw more closures of lottery retailers. However, we also saw a number of high jackpots during that time, which are a key driver of sales levels on jackpot games.”

While lottery sales kept up, casinos were forced to shut down and presumably saw significant losses. The Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation [SGC], responsible for Casino Regina and Casino Moose Jaw, released its annual report on Wednesday and detailed an estimated loss of between $5.2 and $5.8 million over the final two weeks of March. The remainder of the shutdown from Apr. 1 onward did not fall within the 2019-20 fiscal year.

In the 2018-19 fiscal year, uninterrupted by COVID-19, SGC saw total revenues of $118.6 million. The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority [SIGA], responsible for the other seven casinos in the province, had revenues of $262 million that same year. SIGA has not yet issued a 2019-20 annual report.

All nine casinos in the province were shut down for just over 16 weeks from Mar. 17 to July 9.

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trevor.redden@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Trevor_Redden