National Lottery reports record sales

Camelot Group has reported a 9.7% increase in annual revenue from the National Lottery to £7.9billion.

UK.- The Camelot Group has reported record annual sales of £7.91billion from the National Lottery.

The figure for the year ending March 31 represents a 9.7 per cent increase on the previous year, and the third successive year of sales growth following a drop in 2017.

Digital channels continued to drive growth, passing the £2billion mark for the first time, to generate £2.46billion over the period, an increase of £624million.

Around 65 per cent of digital sales were generated on mobile smartphones and tablets, with mobile sales increasing by 57.5 per cent to reach a record high of £1.61billion.

It’s the third successive year of sales growth for the National Lottery since a strategic review was carried out following a drop in sales in 2017. Total revenue for 2019-20 finally overtook the previous annual sales record of £7.62billion achieved in 2015-16 financial year.

The group did not reveal profit figures but said it had returned £1.85billion to good causes, reflecting an increase of £198.4million (+12 per cent) on the 2018-19 financial year. It paid out £4.13billion in winnings to players.

Sales of draw-based games increased by £455.3million to £4.5billion following changes aimed at creating a more interesting range of games, and revenue from scratchcard and online instant win games increased by £243million to £3.5billion.

In-store sales rose by 1.4 per cent to £5.4billion, earning National Lottery retailers £312.7million in commission, an increase of 2.8 per cent. 

Camelot CEO Nigel Railton said: “Three years on from our strategic review, we are seeing growth across all areas of the business. Crucially, our best-ever sales performance has delivered a £200million boost to good causes at a time when the UK needs it most.

“Like many businesses, Camelot has seen disruption as a result of the pandemic – particularly in retail. But, thanks to a combination of the foundations we’ve laid over the last three years and some urgent interventions to respond to the current situation, our sales are currently proving resilient. That’s not to say there is no impact, but the business is adapting and continuing to adjust well to the changing situation.

‘We’re also keeping the government and our partners at the National Lottery Distributors up to date on a weekly basis. We remain completely focused on continuing to run The National Lottery as safely and responsibly as we can because we know the importance of the work it does in raising over £30million every week for good causes around the UK – and that has never been more crucial than it is now.

“With the ongoing uncertainty, the year ahead will inevitably be challenging. But I’m very confident that we’re in great shape to meet those challenges – and that we have the strong track record, creativity and determination required to continue generating vital funds for those who need it most in the UK.”

Camelot said it will remove all scratchcard returns charges for games closed during lockdown in March/April 2020  The company will remove all 32 games from retailers’ inventories, with sales executives visiting stores to collect any full unactivated packs when possible.

The group, whose licence is up for renewal in 2023, said it was continuing talks with major supermarkets to sell National Lottery tickets at self-checkouts.

The latest statistics show that overall UK betting revenue fell in 2019.