How losing its monopoly drove SVL to record profits

The Supreme Ventures Group (SVL) says it is not fazed or intimidated by the introduction of new players in the gambling and lotteries industry. 

In 2021, Lucky Play Lottery and Izizzi Games were both granted approval by the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission to begin operating across the island. The new companies provided first-time competition to Supreme Ventures, who had enjoyed two decades as the island’s only betting and lotteries provider.

However, CEO of Supreme Ventures Services, a subsidiary of SVL, Dennis Chung said that the company welcomed the competition and saw it as an opportunity to step up its games.

Dennis Chung, CEO of  Supreme Ventures Services

“When we heard the competition was coming we embraced it and said ‘this is a chance for us to pull up our socks, realise the opportunities and look at where we can benefit from it’,” he said on Taking Stock with Kalilah Reynolds. 

Chung said that the introduction of new providers also led to increased attention to the market which in turn led to the market’s growth and expansion. 

Additionally, he said that the group made deliberate and strategic moves in order to hold on to and increase their share of the market.

Following the introduction of Izizzi’s single-number draw ‘1Drop’ game, that offers a payout of 27-to-1 with a $10 bet returning $270, SVL, whose single-number draw ‘Cash Pot’ offered a 26-to-1 payout for years, hiked to 28-to-1 resulting in $280 payout for every $10 bet. 

Chung said that the company has performed extremely well, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of new players. 

Supreme Ventures recorded a massive $1 billion in net profits for the first quarter of 2022, a first in the company’s 20 year history. 

The CEO gave a lot of credit to the group’s team, who saw the need to diversify and pivot during the beginning stages of the pandemic and resulting lockdowns.

When we saw that the lockdowns were coming, the lottery team and also at Caymanas Park [horse racing], they took the decision that they’re gonna go hard with offering online [betting], and it paid off,” he said.

Chung said the company made significant investments in its IT infrastructure and now offers several online gaming products, including sports betting, gaming rooms as well as their regular lottery products. 

He said that the company is constantly looking for innovative ways to, not only stay ahead of the competition but also give back to Jamaicans. To that end, he said that the company is very pleased with the reception to the reintroduction of ‘Scratchaz’ to the market. 

Supreme Ventures recently reintroduced ‘Scratchaz’

He said that the returns from Scratchaz have been impressive but can not be compared to games such as Cash Pot which have been around longer and have a dedicated client base. 

Chung noted that roughly 85-90 percent of the company’s profits stem from its lottery games division, with the remainder being spread across the other divisions, such as sports and horse race betting.

“It’s not that the profits just come overnight. This has been the result of years of years of planning and putting things together,” he said.

Chung said that Supreme Ventures is looking forward to continuing its good fortune and giving back to the community through its foundation. He also hinted that the country could see the introduction of new products from the company very soon. 

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