The chief executive of Camelot UK, the operator of the National Lottery, has announced that its ticket sales are “back into growth” having struggled in the first half of the financial year.
Nigel Railton, chief executive of the lottery operator, said the increase in ticket sales came as something of a surprise, given that Camelot had been forecasting “a further sales decline” for the second half of the 2017/18 financial year.
“Given that we had anticipated a further sales decline this year, our achievement in getting The National Lottery back into growth and delivering more money for Good Causes underlines the importance of the work we have been carrying out following the strategic review.”
Camelot announced today that ticket sales for the national lottery between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018 were £6.95bn, an increase of more than £26m on last year. Railton said these results were “an early indication that initiatives from the company’s recent strategic review are yielding results”.
Railton was appointed chief executive of Camelot in November 2017, following the departure of Andy Duncan. Duncan left the organisation after it endured a run of poor ticket sales, which saw its direct returns for good causes fall by 4.7 per cent.
Camelot said it generated over £1.6bn for good causes during 2017/18, an increase of £27.3m than in the previous financial year. This money was awarded to over 530,000 projects around the UK – the equivalent of “around 190 lottery grants in every UK postcode”.
“While there is much work still to do – and we’ll continue to face challenges beyond our control, such as continuing doubts over the economy and ever-increasing competition from the gambling sector – we’re confident that we have some really strong plans lined up,” said Railton.
“These include improvements to Lotto coming later this year to give our players a better winning experience. The National Lottery is a truly national institution that makes a massive difference to the lives of people and communities across the UK – and everyone at Camelot is fully committed to ensuring that this success story continues.”
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