Outgoing UK National Lottery operator Camelot has revealed falling sales of tickets and instant win games as it flagged signs that players had “tightened their belts” in the face of soaring costs. Camelot, which recently launched legal action against the Gambling Commission after losing the lottery’s next licence to rival Allwyn, saw sales drop 3% or £283.2 million to £8.1 billion in the year to March 31.
It said most of the drop was down to a 7% decline in sales of National Lottery Instants – down £240 million to £3.4 billion. The group partly put the fall down to the ending of Covid restrictions, which is saw meant there was “greater competition for people’s attention and spend”.
But it also revealed that “growing economic uncertainty” held back instant sales as consumers came under pressure from rising cost pressures, while scratch card sales remained below pre-pandemic levels. Sales across the 44,500 retailers offering National Lottery products fell 4% to £4.7 million over the year.
