Talking Retail Grocery and product news for independent retailers
National Lottery ticket sales for the year ended 31 March grew by 9.7% to a record £7.9bn.
In addition, Camelot grew total sales of draw-based games by £455.3m to £4.5bn, driven by improvements made to create a more compelling and distinct range of games.
The company also grew sales of scratchcards and online instant win games over the year by £243m to £3.5bn.
Camelot grew in-store sales by 1.4% to £5.4bn over the 12 months and as a result, National Lottery retailers earned £312.7m in commission over the – a 2.8% increase and an average of around £7,000 per store.
The company revealed it is removing all scratchcard returns charges for games closed in the March/April 2020 Scratchcard game closure. The company will remove all 32 games from each retailer’s inventory and local retail sales executives will visit stores to collect any full unactivated packs when it is safe to do so.
Camelot said more than 150 Aldi stores now sell National Lottery products and the company’s trial with Iceland is progressing well. In addition, the company is in talks with other major supermarkets to National Lottery tickets available at self-checkouts.
Over the 12-month period, Camelot generated returns to good causes of £1.9bn, an increase of 12%. Up to £600m of National Lottery funding is being directed towards UK charities and organisations to help tackle the impact of Covid-19.
Camelot chief executive, 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 £200m boost to good causes at a time when the UK needs it most.”
