Strong increase in RAY's profits

From this sum, RAY disbursed 10%, 35.5 million euros, to the state as lottery tax. The business profits for the first half of the year were 200.1 million euros, a growth of 9.4%.

The most profits were generated by slot machines placed in facilities of business partners (+7.5%). The share of these slot machines of the profits of gaming operations were 77.3%, approximately 275 million euros.
     
“The profit margin is very good, when we take into consideration that the age limit of 18 years was already in place in over 90% of our gaming locations. The players have received our new game ideas very well,” says Janne Peräkylä, RAY's Deputy Managing Director. The age limit of 18 years was employed in all RAY’s games on 1 July 2011.

Also the profits from RAY’s own arcades increased promisingly during the first half of the year. The profit amounted to almost 46 million euros, and had a growth of 3.4% when compared to the same time last year.

The profit from the online gaming operations launched at the end of November last year has met the set targets. The profits from January to June were a little under 14 million euros while the target profit for the whole year was budgeted to be 28 million euros. In June, the number of registered players surpassed the limit of 100.000 customers.

Because of the general development of restaurant business, the slower profit increase of restaurant casino games, which started during the economic recession, has continued during the first half of this year, as well. This also applies to the profit increase of Casino Helsinki. Deputy Managing Director Peräkylä feels that these scenes also hold the most important challenge for future times.

“Now that the traditional branch of slot machine games is back on the track of development and profitable growth, we can, starting this autumn, concentrate on the game tables in the restaurants, casinos, and arcades and apply the same targets to them,” says Peräkylä.