The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) have released their industry performance results for the first quarter of the 2018-2019 fiscal year.
The executive summary is as follows:
▪ In the first three months of Fiscal Year 2018-19 (April 1-June 30, 2018), gross wagering on Ontario races decreased by 4.3% relative to the same period the prior year. This can be attributed to lower gross handle levels originating from outside of the Province of Ontario, largely tied to an appreciation of the Canadian dollar vis-à-vis the US dollar.
▪ The volume of betting tickets sold live, at racetracks across Ontario, saw a decline compared to the previous year (-7.9%), mostly driven by a notable reduction for Thoroughbreds (-15.8%). When normalizing for the number of races, the count of tickets sold live per race decreased by 6.3%.
▪ The Ontario horse racing industry experienced a minor horse supply setback compared to the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2017-18, driven by a lower number of unique starters supporting Standardbred racing. Conversely, Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing operations saw a higher supply of horses as demonstrated by an increasing number of unique starters and a lift in average field sizes in the first quarter of the year.
The complete report can be found below, or via this link.
More results will be made available by OLG officials as the fiscal year progresses.