KINGSTON, Jamaica — Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL) said this week in its annual report that the number of Jamaicans who play games of chance remained static at 1.82 million during the 2015 financial year.

Quoting data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) SVL said gaming market remained essentially unchanged and that most are spending their cash on lottery games with less than 30 per cent spending on video betting machines and sports betting/horseracing.

SVL as a group recorded total revenue of $43.8 billion (2014: $41.3billion) which represented a 6.1 per cent increase over the prior year.

Sales from the lottery segment totalled $36.8 billion, representing an increase of three per cent relative to the prior year.

Cash Pot continued to be the largest contributor to lottery revenue with $24.6 billion in revenue for 2015.

Some 74 per cent of gambling revenue comes from the lottery segment in which SVL has no legal competitors.

Eight per cent of revenue comes from VLT gaming (A video lottery terminal or VLT is a gaming machine that allows gamblers to bet on the outcome of a video game) while horse-racing and sports betting accounts for 18 per cent – this from data provided by the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission.

SVL said in its annual report for 2015 which was released this week that the lottery segment benefited from low Cash Pot liabilities and the strong performance of the new Money Time game.

Lottery revenue grew by 3.0 per cent or $1.1 billion relative to the previous year. For the year ended 31st December 2015, the Group’s net profit after tax totalled $1.18 billion a 27.3 per cent or $253.8 million increase over the prior year.

Despite tight economic conditions, Chairman Paul Hoo and President and CEO Brian George expressed confidence in continued revenue growth, noting that the company’s technology platform and extensive retailer network continue to be competitive advantages and provide significant growth opportunities.