Wilko has announced that it has made the decision to stop selling lottery tickets in all of its stores across the UK starting from this year.
The move has seen the high-street retail chain axe National Lottery tickets and scratch cards in all stores starting from New Year's Eve reports, The Manchester Evening News.
The decision to pull the items was made as the retailer said that it "would require significant investment" to continue the service which it no longer sees as a priority, reports BirminghamLive.
Signs announcing that the retailer would no longer be selling Lottery tickets and scratch cards from December 31 have been spotted in-stores, with the firm calling it a "smart decision."
Instead, Wilko has said that it will be investing in its staff members and will continue to focus on delivering "great value products at great value prices."
A spokesperson for Wilko said: "Our focus is continuing to invest in becoming the best everyday household and garden retailer we can be. Our customers come to us for great value products at great prices when they need them and right now, we're making smart choices to trade a business.
"Continuing to offer the Lottery in our stores moving forward would require a significant investment that, right now, isn’t a priority and is better spent on improving our customer proposition and supporting team members."
The store said that it had begun its "journey with the National Lottery" to raise money for good causes. But said it had since introduced its "own charities strategy" that raises up to £10,000 a week for charity.
Wilko added: "We’ve designed our own charities strategy including the recent introduction of 'Pennies' and are raising more money than ever, direct for charities supported by the wilko 'Together for Families' programme; Save the Children, Alzheimer’s Society and Teenage Cancer Trust.
"Over the last four years we’ve raised over £2M and now with Pennies we're providing direct support at a time when charities need it more than ever and our customers’ generous donations regularly peak at £10,000 per week."
Wilko was founded by James Kemsey Wilkinson and opened its first store back in 1930, with the founder's family still running the chain to this day.
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