Newfoundland and Labrador spends more money gambling than any of the Maritime provinces, but as far as the Atlantic Lottery Corporation's bottom line is concerned, the total is still a bit of a disappointment.

The province is the only one that didn't hit its profit target this year.

"We didn't quite hit our target that we'd set for 2018, and we're down a little bit from 2017," said Patrick Daigle, Atlantic Lottery Corporation's chief financial officer.

The corporation shared $133.8 million in profits with Newfoundland and Labrador last year.

That was $4.6 million less than the $138.4 million forecast, according to the ALC's annual report for the 2017-18 fiscal year, ending March 31.

Slight economic downturn

The answer can be found in our economy, according to Daigle.

"Our business is built off disposable income spent, and when the economy is not firing on all cylinders, so when consumer confidence isn't high, that has an impact.

When consumer confidence isn't high, that has an impact. - Patrick Daigle

"It may not be huge, but when we plan for a little bit of growth, and then we see a little bit of decline, it does create a gap in our results."

Not that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians didn't spend a lot. They did — with some $405.5 million in total sales.

$405.5M in sales in N.L.

The province easily outspent the rest of Atlantic Canada last year:

$405.5 million in sales in Newfoundland and Labrador

$365.8 million in Nova Scotia

$320 million in New Brunswick

$57 million in Prince Edward Island

Patrick Daigle, chief financial officer of Atlantic Lottery, says profits in Newfoundland and Labrador are down slightly. (Alantic Lottery Corporation)

Despite this province spending the most, ALC actually shared more profits in Nova Scotia: $137.9 million, surpassing the corporation's target of $137.2 million.

Daigle said that's because of the mix of products people here spend their money on.

"Newfoundland and Labrador has a phenomenon where they have about 70 per cent of Atlantic Canadian volume of the break-open product," he said.

"That also happens to be the lowest-margin product … It's the highest payout back to the player, the highest ticket [production] cost, and the highest commission that we pay to retailers. So because of that, while the sales are high, the profit is a little bit lower [than] in other provinces because of that sales mix."

In addition, it's difficult to compare VLT profits across the region, he said, because each province has different regulations governing their use, including their hours of operation and payouts.

The report says $128,611,108 was sold in break-opens in Atlantic Canada last year; 70 per cent of that is $90 million.

Per capita, Newfoundland and Labrador spends much more than any other province in Atlantic Canada: $769 spent on 6/49, scratch tickets, VLTs and break-opens for every man, woman and child, compared with $421 in New Brunswick, $383 in Nova Scotia, and $375 in Prince Edward Island (based on 2017 Statistics Canada population figures).

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