SaskGaming income slips by $2.4 million

The provincial gaming corporation’s annual income dropped last year, with the organization netting $46.4 million for the fiscal year that ended in March 2018 — a decrease of $2.4 million when compared to what it made in the 2016-17 fiscal year.

The decline happened even though SaskGaming cut its operating costs and welcomed more people into its two casinos last year.

According to the Crown corporation’s annual report, released Monday, income has declined “due to a number of factors outside the control of SaskGaming,” including the slowdown of the Saskatchewan economy, which means people have less money to spend.

“It is expected that improvement in the Saskatchewan economy will increase revenue over time,” the report reads.

SaskGaming’s revenue for the 2017-18 fiscal year was $119.4 million — $4.7 million less than last year’s revenue, largely because people were spending less money at slot machines. Table games also produced less revenue than they did last year.

There were 3,512,803 people who visited Casino Regina and Casino Moose Jaw last fiscal year, up from 3,502,360 in the 2016-17 fiscal year.

SaskGaming spent $2 million less on operating expenses in 201718 than it did the previous year because it had a smaller workforce, a new staff schedule and had cracked down on overtime costs. It also paid out less money in severance than it did in 2016-17.

Half of SaskGaming ’s net income goes into a general revenue fund, which pays money out equally to the First Nations Trust and Community Initiatives Fund.

SaskGaming poured $23.2 million into the general revenue fund for the 2017-18 fiscal year, down $1.2 million from the $24.4 million it contributed in 2016-17.