SaskGaming is back in the black after coming out of a historic loss last year caused by casino closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2021-22 annual report for Saskatchewan’s public casino operator shows the Crown corporation pulled in $19.1 million in net income by March 2022, an increase of $22.9 million from a net loss of $13.4 million in 2020-21.

With Casino Regina and Casino Moose Jaw re-opening in June 2021, patrons were able to return and spend, boosting sales and bringing the operator back to a profit.

“It’s always a great situation when you’re able to get back up operating and turning a profit for the people of the province,” Shanna Schulhauser, spokesperson for SaskGaming, said.

This fiscal year, the corporation pulled in $77.8 million in revenue and spent $58.7 million.

Of the $19.1 million left over, $9.5 million remained as retained earnings and $9.6 million went to the government’s general revenue fund. From the general revenue fund, $4.8 million went towards community initiatives and $4.8 million to the First Nations Trust.

No dividends will be sent to Crown Investments Corp. this year because the casinos still had been temporarily closed, Schulhauser said.

The profit puts SaskGaming back into a better financial position after it posted a $13.4 million loss in 2020-21. That year, the corporation sent no money to the government.

Revenue from slot machines make up the bulk of money earned in 2021-22, followed by funds generated through table games, food and beverages.

Slot revenue jumped by $35.5 million, tables saw an increase of $8.4 million and food and beverage revenue had risen by $2.9 million.

“It’s almost been a full year of operations,” Schulhauser said. “Being temporarily closed for most of that first quarter was impactful, but as you can tell from from our net income, it has significantly improved over the previous year.”

Operating expenses also grew this past fiscal year.

Total expenses were $45 million, an increase of $13.3 million from March 2021. Salaries and employee benefits increased by $8.3 million, maintenance and supplies increased by $1.2 million, and lease and rental costs rose by $1.4 million.

Schulhauser said 507 permanent employees were temporarily laid off during the pandemic.

She said 243 of those employees were recalled for the June 2021 re-opening and the remaining 327 were offered a recall on July 11 that year.

While SaskGaming posted higher revenues in 2021-22, the corporation has seen a slow decline in dollars earned since 2012.

In 2018-19, SaskGaming generated $118.6 million in revenue. That fell to $114.1 million in 2019-20 and further losses were reported in 2020-21.

SaskGaming is aiming to pull in $101.8 million in revenue for 2022-23. Schulhauser explained that will be done through renovations and upgrading technology to boost guest experiences, as well as ensuring operations are cost effective.

The first week of July will see the release of annual reports for Saskatchewan’s main Crown corporations. Along with SaskGaming, SaskWater and the Saskatchewan Opportunities Corporation (SOCO), which operates two technology parks in Saskatchewan, released their reports Monday.

SaskWater received a net income of $8 million and will pay a $6.5 million dividend to the province. SOCO generated a net income of $1.1 million.