Camelot posts record H1 National Lottery ticket sales
UK National Lottery operator experiences growth in both retail and online as it stakes claim to retain licence
National lottery incumbent Camelot recorded its highest ever first-half National Lottery ticket sales for the first six months of the 2021-22 financial year.
Running from 1 April until 25 September, the current National Lottery licence holder sold £4bn in tickets, representing a 2.7% year-on-year (YoY) increase of £107.3m.
The majority of ticket sales were derived from draw-based games, with sales rising 3.6% YoY to £2.2bn.
Elsewhere, scratchcards and online instant win games sales grew 1.6% to reach £1.7bn.
Camelot also recorded sales growth across its retail and digital operations, with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions encouraging people back to the high street.
Retail returned a 4.5.% YoY increase in sales to £2.3bn while the firm returned record online sales for H1 to £1.6bn.
Camelot noted the National Lottery awarded £2.3bn in prize money to players creating 184 new millionaires in the process.
The Canadian firm said it continued to return approximately 95% of all sales revenue to winners and good causes, with 4% spent on operating costs and 1% retained as profit.
In fact, the amount generated for good causes via ticket sales grew 6.5% while the total financial amount for good causes of £884.5m was up 2.4% from £863.7m.
Since the launch of the National Lottery in 1994, returns to good causes have exceeded £45bn.
Nigel Railton, Camelot CEO, said: “With National Lottery sales up across the board and very high levels of public participation, we’ve once again proved that our strategy of offering great consumer choice in a safe and convenient way continues to deliver vital contributions to good causes across the UK.
“We’ve got the year off to a fantastic start and, even though we face a potentially challenging external environment, I am confident that we continue to offer excellent value for money for players,” he added.
Railton went on to claim the National Lottery was in its “best-ever shape” under the stewardship of Camelot as battle for the fourth National Lottery licence heats up between the incumbent, Sisal and Allwyn.
He continued: “This record first half shows that The National Lottery continues to be in its best-ever shape as it delivers for good causes, players, retailers and the Treasury.
“Following four years of sales growth, including record results last year, I am extremely grateful to my colleagues and the wider National Lottery family of good causes distributors and retailers for their role in this ongoing success story.”