Mahoe Gaming to suspend four games amid rapid sales decline
Published:Sunday | March 30, 2025 | 3:24 AMKimone Francis - Senior Staff Reporter
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Mahoe Gaming Enterprises Limited (MGEL), which burst onto the lottery scene almost five years ago, is moving to suspend four of its games because of financial challenges that are impacting its operations. Mahoe Gaming, in a February 5, 2025 letter...
Mahoe Gaming Enterprises Limited (MGEL), which burst onto the lottery scene almost five years ago, is moving to suspend four of its games because of financial challenges that are impacting its operations.
Mahoe Gaming, in a February 5, 2025 letter to BGLC, proposed to suspend the games as part of an operational change plan for the business.
“Despite our implemented approach to reducing operational expenditure, the company continues to be impacted by rapid sales decline and decrease in customer retention,” the letter from the CEO said.
“Nevertheless, we remain committed to sustaining the business and it is in this regard imperative for us to conduct extensive market research which will influence our plans to re-enter the market with a wider suite of games,” Moo Young added.
She said Mahoe would maintain all regulatory requirements in keeping with the current conditions of its licence and standard operating procedures.
At the same time, Moo Young said as an assurance to BGLC, stakeholders, retailers, customers and the wider public, its lottery operations would continue to be driven by its number one social space lottery game – Quickie.
She said since beginning operations in 2021, the Quickie game represented more than 50 per cent of Mahoe Gaming’s overall lottery sales.
“This is an indication of the success of this game,” the CEO said.
In a November 14, 2024 letter, the BGLC raised concerns about Mahoe Gaming’s operations.
It noted, among other things, concerns about Mahoe Gaming’s financial performance and viability of business.
Raises concerns as to the financial viability
“The commission has taken note of Mahoe Gaming’s financial performance in lottery sales over the last year and notes in particular the drastic decline in the last seven months – April to October 2024 – with total sales in April of $84 million to $35 million. Such drastic reduction from April 2024 raises concerns as to the financial viability of Mahoe Gaming,” the BGLC said in that letter.
1Drop saw sales decline from $28 million in April 2024 to $12 million by October. Lucky Day Lotto moved from $681,880 over the same period to $412,560. Hattrik moved from $2.5 million to $1.2 million, while 4Play went from $8.4 million to $4.8 million.
Quickie, which Mahoe Gaming said it will continue with, dropped from $44.7 million to $17.2 million.
Additionally, BGLC noted concerns about the non-submission of audited financial statements for the year ended June 2023 which became due in December 2023. It indicated that this was a breach of Mahoe Gaming’s condition of licence.
As a result, BGLC summoned Mahoe Gaming to a November 21, 2024 meeting at its offices.
The company responded to the November 14, 2024 letter acknowledging the BGLC concerns in a letter dated November 22, 2024. It committed to submitting the financial statements.
In a December 12, 2024 letter, Mahoe Gaming confirmed that it had sent the outstanding statements though it said it was still awaiting hard copies from KPMG.
Both BGLC and Mahoe Gaming met on December 16, 2024 according to the documents obtained by The Gleaner, following which BGLC wrote to Mahoe Gaming.
In that letter, it noted that the company must ensure compliance with the conditions of its licence and that it must submit any changes to operations prior to implementation.
Mahoe Gaming wrote to BGLC, in the aforementioned letter of February 5, about the proposed changes.
The BGLC responded in a February 19, 2025 letter, indicating that during the suspension period the company must continue to submit quarterly financial statements, including a resubmission of the unaudited financial statements for the quarter October to December 2024. The deadline for resubmission was February 28, 2025. It was not immediately clear if this was met.
The BGLC approved the granting of a licence to Mahoe Gaming in July, 2020, making it the third entity in Jamaica to have been granted a licence to operate a lottery in the island.
An intense court battle
It followed an intense court battle in which gaming giants Supreme Ventures sought to block the BGLC’s granting of the licence, which Mahoe applied for in 2019.
Prime Sports, a subsidiary of Supreme Ventures, had asked the Supreme Court for an injunction restraining the BGLC from granting, issuing, considering, or continuing consideration of the grant of a lottery licence to Mahoe Gaming.
Prime Sports wanted the court to order that no licence be granted unless a feasibility study was conducted on lottery operations in the country.
It was also seeking an order prohibiting lottery licences for the same types of games offered by SVL.
The court rejected the application and ruled that the BGLC had acted within the law in considering the application.
It found that the law governing the BGLC and lotteries in the country did not require the commission to consult with existing lottery licensees or conduct market investigations or surveys before it decides to grant or refuse to grant a licence.