Urgent interventions made by Camelot to minimise the effects of Covid-19 on National Lottery sales succeeded in reversing an initial 18% hit to income at the start of the pandemic. By the end of September, sales for the first six months of the financial year 2020/21 were down by just 1.7% – a decrease of £67m. Online activity accounted for over 42% of all sales, growing by £455m to reach £1,619m.
The knock-on effect on National Lottery Good Causes was also minimised. £863.7m was raised during this period – £13.1m (1.5%) less than the same period last year. 20% of Good Causes money goes to arts and cultural activity, meaning a loss of just £2.6m to the sector so far this year, compared with last.
Announcing the results, Camelot CEO Nigel Railton declared the company was “enormously proud of this set of results” in light of “an unprecedented situation – with a sharp decline in sales, retail uncertainty and our EuroMillions game in jeopardy, as some of our partner countries were under strict lockdowns.”