As Atlantic Lottery profits drop, Green MLA says P.E.I. isn't getting a fair share

Prince Edward Island isn't getting a fair share of profits from the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, Green Party MLA Peter Bevan-Baker charges.

The Atlantic Lottery Corporation released its annual report this week, showing a slight dip in profits compared to last year. The total profits the corporation is sharing with Atlantic governments from 2023-2024 totals $487 million, down from slightly more than $492 million the year before.

P.E.I. received $26.8 million this year, or $2.5 million less than the province's cut for 2022-2023.

For Bevan-Baker, it's P.E.I.'s slice of the pie that's most troubling.

"We're getting a raw deal," he said. "We're just not getting our fair share of revenues. And that's a big problem. It's an ongoing problem, and it's been here for some time."

The Green MLA said that while other Atlantic provinces getting back more than 50 per cent of revenues based on gross sales, P.E.I. is not even close, at just 38 per cent.

This is not a new complaint from Bevan-Baker, who raised the same issue after the 2014-2015 annual report, when P.E.I. received $10 million from ALC out of the corporation's total profits of $368 million. 

'Year of investment,' CEO says

Meanwhile, the president and CEO of Atlantic Lottery Corporation says the year-over-year dip in overall profits was planned.

"It was a year of investment for us, back into the business," Patrick Daigle told CBC's Island Morning, citing the installation of self-serve retailer terminals as an example. The company's website says the only one on P.E.I. can be found at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino in Charlottetown. 

As for P.E.I.'s cut of the money, Daigle said the discrepancy between provinces comes down to the "sales mix" the corporation uses to offset expenses.

He said the presence of the two Red Shores locations on the Island lowers profit margins overall, compared to a mix of video and ticket lotteries in the other three Atlantic provinces.

Regardless of the exact split, Daigle said most of the money spent on the lottery in Atlantic Canada stays in the region.

Bevan-Baker would like to see a bit more of that money stay on the Island, though.

"I don't accept the fact that P.E.I. is an equal partner and is not able to get our fair share of revenues," he said.