UK lottery profits up

Camelot, the operator of Britain’s National Lottery, reports a 2014 boost in profits despite declining ticket sales and charitable contributions.

The company’s accounts posted over the weekend reveal that its profits before income tax for the year up to March stood at GBP 76.8 million, up from GBP 72.2 million for last year.

Reduced admin expenses helped turn failing sales into a profit. Gross ticket sales were valued at GBP 6.73 billion, down from GBP 6.98 billion last year, whilst sales for draw-based games fell by 6.6 percent, largely driven by a poor performing EuroMillions.

There was better news in scratchcards and instant win games, which saw an increase of 3.8 percent.

The total amount raised for good causes fell to GBP 1.75 billion for the year, representing 26 percent of sales, from GBP 1.95 billion for 2013, which made up 28 percent of total sales.

Camelot marked the departure of chief executive Dianne Thompson this week after 17 years in the hot seat. She has been replaced by Andy Duncan, who commented:

“As we look forward to celebrating 20 years of the National Lottery next month, we’re determined to build on this momentum. We’ve just successfully launched a major new online and mobile platform, which is transforming the way players interact with our games across all devices. On top of that, we’ve got really exciting plans for the second half of the year.”

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