The UK lottery Camelot generated ticket sales of £3.85 billion for the first six months of the year despite a decline in sales of 18 percent in April at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Camelot said in a press release that it used critical group interventions to mitigate pandemic disruptions and updated all of its advertising to prioritize ticket purchasing through its online and mobile channels. The lottery saw a significant increase in online purchases, with the National Lottery registering 1.3 million new accounts during the period.
The lottery saw record digital sales of £1.61 billion, reflecting an increase of £455 million, as the National Lottery recorded its fifth consecutive quarter of digital growth. The lottery saw strong sales of tickets across its mobile verticals, with sales increasing by £380 million to an all-time high of £1,12 billion.
Meanwhile, the operator reported a steep decrease in footfall and shopper frequency as National Lottery ticket sales declined by £522 million to £2,23 billion.
Camelot launched an initial £300 million ‘National Lottery Community Fund COVID-19 support package’ at the start of the pandemic.
“My sincere thanks must go to all of my fantastic colleagues, whose wellbeing is, and continues to be, our first priority, as well as our 44,000 National Lottery retailers who have done an extraordinary job for the entire UK, providing food, medicine and other essentials,” said Group CEO Nigel Railton in a press release. “We don’t pretend that selling National Lottery tickets is as important as any of that, but the fact that they’ve stayed open has also ensured that good causes have continued to benefit throughout.”
