Current UK National Lottery operator Camelot has spotted signs that players had “tightened their belts” in the cost of living crisis as it revealed declining ticket sales and instant win games.
Camelot, which recently launched legal action against the Gambling Commission after losing the lottery’s next license to compete with Allwyn, saw sales fall 3% or £283.2 million to £8 in the year to 31 March. 1 billion, although this was only the second time sales have crossed the £8 billion mark.
It said the bulk of the drop came down to a 7% drop in sales of National Lottery Instants – down from £240m to £3.4bn.
The group attributed the fall in part to the end of Covid restrictions, which they said meant “more competition for people’s attention and spending”.
What we see is that regular players become occasional players and choose when to play
But it also revealed that “growing economic uncertainty” held back immediate sales as consumers faced mounting cost pressures, while scratch card sales remained below pre-pandemic levels.
Sales at the 44,500 retailers offering National Lottery products also fell 4% to £4.7 million over the year, initially hampered by pandemic restrictions in early 2021, but more recently by the crisis in the cost of living.
It said this had slowed the retail recovery as “consumers tightened their belts”.
Speaking to the PA news agency, Camelot chief executive Nigel Railton said the group has seen evidence in recent weeks that players are spending less and buying tickets less often.
“What we’re seeing is regular players become players once in a while and choose when to play,” he said.
He said the feared recession that may be looming on the horizon as a result of the cost of living crisis would likely be “unprecedented in the history of the National Lottery”.
“The National Lottery is a choice and people will make choices about their discretionary spending – we are very aware of that,” he added.
“All we can do is have a resilient business ready to act.”
The group said draw-based games outperformed in 2021-2022, with ticket sales down £43.2m to £4.6bn, with fewer major EuroMillions rollovers.
Camelot said the end of the Covid restrictions cut online sales by £93million to £3.4bn, although this was also due to the introduction of lower online play and wallet limits for potentially risky players.
It said £1.9bn was generated for charities over the year – an increase of £24.3m from last year and the equivalent of £36m a week, a record raised from the ticket sales.
In March, Camelot lost its license to operate the lottery from 2024 after playing the game for 30 years.
The five-year license was awarded to Allwyn, formerly known as Sazka, who runs lotteries in Austria, Italy and Greece, and is proposing to reduce the cost of UK tickets from £2 to £1.
But Camelot, which is owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, launched legal proceedings just a month later to challenge the decision, alleging that the Gambling Commission had made the decision “completely wrong.”
Mr Railton told the PA news agency: “We had no choice but to go to court and ask them who the rightful winner is.
“This is the largest purchase decision in this House and it really deserves independent scrutiny.”
Questions have also been raised about Allwyn’s sister company, MND, ties to Russian gas giant Gazprom.