Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corp. Issues 2021-2021 Annual Report

Just recently, the provincially owned agency Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation issued its fiscal 2021-2022 report to the public. Through its sale of liquor, gaming, and cannabis for the financial year that ended on March 31, 2022, the Crown corporation managed to contribute CA$1.41 billion. This is a weighty increase to the results from the 2020-2021 year.

The Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation is a state-run agency that conducts legalized gambling, distributing and selling liquor, and sourcing and distributing non-medical cannabis. It was founded in 2013 with the merger of the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission and Manitoba Lotteries Corporation and 100% of its proceeds are reinvested into the Province of Manitoba.

Numbers from 2021-2022

For fiscal 2021-2022, the Crown corporation made a total of CA$1.41 billion in revenue, which is a hefty CA$206 increase or a 17% boost from the previous fiscal year with CA$1.21 billion in revenue. However, it must be noted that in 2020-2021 its operations were affected by the unprecedented situation when health protocols closed casinos, bars, and VLT venues.

For the 2021-2022 financial year, gambling revenue accounted for CA$430 million of the total proceeds. This was an increase of CA$184 million from the previous year. And once health and safety restrictions were lifted casinos contributed CA$85 million more, while VLT revenue increased by CA$89 million, and online gaming accumulated CA$10 million more.

The Crown corporation reported that in 2021-2022 online gambling revenue increased to CA$82.9 million from CA$72.4 million from the prior FY. From the current financial year of iGaming, over CA$63 million has gone to Manitoba’s government. Currently, the only legal online sports betting and casino options in the province are BCLC’s PlayNow platform. Sports betting numbers were included in the iGaming section.

In total, the local government collected CA$635 million from the MBLL from its operations in 2021-2022. In addition to that, the MBLL said that over 300 aging electronic table machines will be soon replaced with new ones, which will come with broad gaming options. Also, an additional 960 old VLTs will also be replaced by the Crown.

Speaking of VLTs, in June, the Crown corporation inked an agreement with International Game Technology to supply it with its innovative Cobalt™ 27 video lottery terminals. IGT said the Manitoban version of the VLT comes with some of the supplier’s best-performing titles. This includes Temple of Fire™ Cash Eruption®, Big City 5’s™, Five Times Pay™, Power Keno™, and Double Double Bonus Poker™.

Discrimination Complaints

However, it should be noted that this year, the MBLL was also involved in a scandal, as former cooks from its Winnipeg casinos filed discrimination complaints against it. The three women claim that were promised they would be recalled to work after the ease of provincial health restrictions. But unfortunately, that never happened, and they have requested help from the Manitoba Labor Board.

Source: Warren, Greg “Northern Exposure: Blue Jays Postseason, Provincial Gaming Reports” SportsHandle, October 6, 2022