July 26, 2023 -- One Vaughan, Ontario small business – Gotskill? – continues to do its part supporting hospitality establishments that are still recovering from the pandemic, as the sector tries to manage both inflation and labour shortage problems. As part of its business model, GotSkill? offers its clients a monthly cashflow from its skill-based games. Since its inception over six years ago, Gotskill? has paid out close to $14 million to its business clientele.
Concerned that Ontario’s hospitality sector is pushed to the limits, GotSkill? president & CEO Tony Carvalho understands the importance of his company’s role in supplementing his clients’ business income. “We know restaurants and bars are strained with multiple pressures: rising operating costs, hikes in food costs, shortages of labour, incurred pandemic debt and now high interest rates. Many small business owners are just keeping their heads above water.”
“We are working with these businesses to provide an additional revenue stream with our entertainment games. Gotskill? skill-based games help to keep customers entertained at the establishment, and the monthly income from the games has provided a lifeline for many of the owners,” says Carvalho.
Recent statistics compiled by the restaurant industry suggests a sector that is challenged. Restaurant Canada reports:
· One in two (50 per cent) foodservice operators are currently operating at a loss or just breaking even (compared to just 12 per cent in pre-pandemic years).
· Food costs have increased this past year by 30 to 40 per cent, something that is in part absorbed by the business owner and not reflected in the menu prices.
· Labour shortages are plaguing restaurant owners, and many have had to resort to opening fewer days, reducing seating capacity and menu items, and/or cutting hours of operation.
· Bankruptcy filings have more than doubled (116 per cent) in foodservice in the first six months of this year.
· Nearly one in five restaurants are carrying outstanding federal government loans that they will be unable to repay in part or in full by the December 31st deadline -- leaving them at risk of bankruptcy by the year’s end.
· A total of 43 per cent more restaurants have closed their doors over the last year in comparison to the number that have opened.
Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has also just released findings regarding the waning confidence within the country’s small business sector. Business owners’ confidence is tracking far below historical levels and there is little optimism in what the future will bring in the months ahead. Rising costs of operation, labour, and uncertain demand are all factors contributing to the lack of confidence.
“At Gotskill? we are very aware of our small part in helping keep our clients’ doors open. The financial opportunity our business provides is more important and needed today than it has ever been,” says Carvalho.
He adds, “Local establishments are important meeting places in neighbourhoods. They are central to the lives of people and families who enjoy socializing, and central to the owners and staff of these small, often family-owned businesses. So, it is very satisfying to know we are helping these establishments that play such a large part in local economies.”
GotSkill? / SBG - Skill Based Games Inc.
SBG - Skill Based Games Inc. (SBG) is a Canadian distributor of GotSkill? games developed for installation in the hospitality sector (restaurants, bars, bingo and pool halls, cafes, bowling alleys, entertainment establishments, etc.). Established in 2016, GotSkill? games can be found across Ontario, from Pickle Lake and Thunder Bay in the North, to Cornwall and Ottawa in the East, to Windsor in the West, and in cities across the Golden Horseshoe/GTA. The games are skill-based, requiring hand-eye coordination, and include the opportunity for cash prizes. SBG’s GotSkill? games are fun, entertaining, and 100% skill-based. Visit: www.gotskill.ca
Visit www.gotskill.ca for more information or contact:
Tony Carvalho - 905.264.4567 or tonyc@gotskill.ca
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