UK National Lottery operator impacted by change in format

Camelot, the company which operates the UK National Lottery, has found the six months April to September this year “challenging” following results that show a GBP 226 million plunge in ticket sales, probably due to the decision to add more numbers, thus increasing the odds against a big win.

The change last October saw the number of balls increased from 49 to 59, which experts say means the odds of winning the jackpot soared from 1 in 14 million to 1 in 45 million.

Financial results revealed Wednesday showed that the company received GBP 3.38 billion from ticket sales between April and September, down from GBP 3.61 billion in the corresponding period in 2015, with management acknowledging that the next six months are likely to be equally challenging.

The decline in sales meant that Lottery donations to worthy causes dropped from GBP 875 million to GBP 783 million in the period.

A total of GBP 1.92 billion in prizes was awarded to players between April and September this year, with 183 new millionaires created.

The Lottery was recently embarrassed when a new app enabling users to check their lottery tickets for winning numbers malfunctioned (see previous report).

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