Pollard Banknote Q2 Revenue Rises 8 Percent to $154.8 Million on Instant Ticket and iLottery Gains
TL;DR — Pollard Banknote posted Q2 revenue of $154.8 million, up 8% YoY, with adjusted EBITDA at $31.1 million. Growth came from instant ticket sales, the California contract, and the Michigan iLottery operation via NPi. Management expects continued gains across retail, digital, and charitable lines for the rest of 2026.
SCCG Take — Long-term lottery contracts and iLottery wins deliver revenue stability that offsets quarterly swings and supports share repurchase capacity.
Pollard Banknote reported a recovery in the second quarter of 2026 after a difficult start to the year. Revenue and earnings rose while margins expanded on higher instant ticket volumes and digital operations.
Q2 revenue increased 8% year-over-year to US$154.8m, according to Lottery Daily. Combined sales rose 8.2% to $189.1m. Adjusted EBITDA grew 6.5% to $31.1m from $29.2m, and gross margin widened from 16.7% to 18.1%.
John Pollard, Co-Chief Executive Officer, said performance had returned to expected levels. He cited strong earnings and revenue across product lines.
Instant Ticket Volumes and California Contract Drive Results
Instant ticket production returned to historic levels with additional volumes from the California Lottery contract. The agreement serves as scratchcard supplier and has generated higher volumes than initially forecast.
“Our mix of instant ticket sales sold during the quarter resulted in an increase in average selling price compared to the first quarter due to improved customer mix and higher value tickets,” said Pollard. “The new business generated from our new California primary instant ticket contract continues to exceed our expectations with higher volumes than initially expected.”
iLottery Contracts and Outlook for Second Half
The Michigan Lottery contract, operated through the NPi joint venture with NepPollard Interactive and Aristocrat Interactive, contributed $17.3m before profit share and income tax margin. The Toronto Stock Exchange approved a Normal Course Issuer Bid authorizing repurchase of around 10% of outstanding common shares as of 13 May 2026.
Pollard pointed to the notice of intent for the Colorado Lottery digital solution contract, the third iLottery contract in the last two years. “We are very pleased with our second quarter results and are confident the remainder of 2026 will see continuing improved results from our instant ticket, digital and charitable gaming operations,” he added. “The combination of strong momentum in all three of our business lines, retail, digital and charitable, will continue to generate positive results going forward.”
Reporting: Lottery Daily
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
Sticky long-term lottery contracts — instant and digital — deliver predictable revenue growth that funds buybacks and smooths volatility.
We've watched lottery evolve from analog scratchers to full omnichannel platforms. Pollard's dual-engine growth — California instant tickets beating forecast and Michigan iLottery through NPi — shows how diversified contract portfolios insulate suppliers from single-channel risk. That stability matters when capital allocation and M&A come into play.
- Q2 revenue $154.8M, +8% YoY; adjusted EBITDA $31.1M, +6.5%; gross margin expanded to 18.1%
- California instant ticket contract exceeding volume expectations; Michigan iLottery via NPi contributed $17.3M
- Colorado iLottery intent filed; TSX approved 10% share buyback; confident outlook across retail, digital, charitable
SCCG angle: SCCG connects lottery technology providers with jurisdictions planning digital expansions and operators building omnichannel retail-plus-iLottery strategies. We've brokered partnerships across 30+ regulated markets — when a client needs lottery platform intel or contract pipeline visibility, we tap the suppliers, regulators, and system integrators who've actually deployed at scale.
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