Atlantic Lottery returns $492 million profit and warns illegal gambling drains $250 million a year
Atlantic Lottery returned $492 million in net profit to the four Atlantic provinces in 2025-26, according to its annual report and a news release issued on October 21, 2026. The release marked the Crown corporation’s 50 years of operations in the region.
The same release put a figure on the unregulated market: approximately $250 million is estimated to leave the regional economy each year through illegal operators. The corporation is owned by New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, and it returns all of its profit to those four governments.
Where the $492 million went in 2025-26
According to CTV News Atlantic, which reported the release, Nova Scotia received $164.5 million, Newfoundland and Labrador $152.8 million, New Brunswick $148.9 million and Prince Edward Island $25.8 million. Atlantic Lottery said the money supports health care, education and infrastructure.
The total was lower than the year before.
RG.org, reading the annual report, said the 2025-26 figure was $6.7 million below 2024-25 and $10.3 million short of budget. For comparison, the corporation’s release a year earlier reported $498.7 million in profit for 2024-25. RG.org also reported that all four provinces received less than in the previous year, with New Brunswick’s share falling the most, from $154.6 million.
Results by line of business
Retail lottery delivered $133.2 million, down 4.6%, while the Destination and Red Shores segment delivered $225 million, according to RG.org. iLottery was the only growth area, with profit rising 15.4% to $133.8 million.
Illegal online gambling estimate rises to $250 million
President and CEO Dallas McCready framed the year in blunt terms. “Atlantic Lottery is facing a level of disruption that is unprecedented in our 50-year history and the effect on our financial performance last year was clear,” he said in the release. “The growth of illegal online gambling has fundamentally changed the competitive landscape.”
He said these operators “are drawing significant gaming dollars out of Atlantic Canada” and “contribute nothing to provincial revenues in our region.” In his words, they are also “not subject to the same healthy play and consumer protection requirements that govern Atlantic Lottery.”
The estimate itself has grown. In the corporation’s 2024-25 results, McCready put the annual outflow at approximately $200 million; this year’s release gives approximately $250 million.
Atlantic Lottery said its share of regional online betting and gaming activity rose to 35 per cent, up from 34 per cent the previous year.
Sports betting slips while online casino revenue beats target
On the corporation’s balanced scorecard, online gross gaming revenue covering iCasino, iBingo and online sports betting came in at $144.8 million against a $140.2 million target, RG.org reported. Core gross gaming revenue reached $744.8 million, below its $793.1 million target.
Sports betting was the weak spot. The report said the total value of wagers fell 5.6% year over year, driven by a 10% drop in active players, although sports net revenue rose 4.1% to $13.7 million.
Atlantic Lottery attributed the decline to advertising from operators that cannot legally offer betting in the region and to the use of virtual private networks, factors it said have been amplified since Ontario opened its market to private operators in 2022.
The report also stated that more than 27.5% of online players set a discretionary limit.
