Falling sales of tickets may mean lottery is nationalised
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Your support makes all the difference.The National Lottery may be brought under state control in an attempt to halt the fall in tickets sales, the Government has warned.
Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State for Culture, said she was considering plans for nationalisation when the current lottery licence, held by Camelot, runs out in 2009. Her department fears that the image of the lottery – now rebranded Lotto – may have been irreparably damaged by negative publicity that has included an acrimonious battle for control between Camelot and the Virgin boss, Sir Richard Branson, concern over the size of payouts to directors and controversy over some of the beneficiaries of grants.
Camelot reported the worst six-month sales figures last month since the lottery started. Revenue from the various games slumped to almost £2.3bn in the period to 28 September, down 5.2 per cent on the same time last year. One of the reasons was falling interest in the main Lotto game, with sales down 10 per cent from £1.9bn to £1.7bn.
Ms Jowell said: "What matters about the lottery is that it works for the public good, that it represents good value for money and that the minimum amount of money is being creamed off to meet costs."
Ministers are considering placing the game under a non-profit government agency as one of a number of options discussed in the department's lottery review. The department completed a consultation on the future of the lottery in October and will take another six months before making proposals.
A Camelot spokeswomansaid: "We have always known [state control] is an option and have set out our case. The current system has produced one of the most successful lotteries in the world and raised £12.1bn for good causes."
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