Is there trouble on the cards at Camelot?

Something curious is happening at the National Lottery. Scratchcard sales have nearly doubled in the past five years. Income from these is now at its highest since the games – then called Instants – were launched by Camelot in 1995. Sales are on course to pass £1bn by the end of this year. Add that to the fact that Camelot has just retained its licence for another 10 years, to 2019, and ask yourself: how could anything possibly be wrong?

In 2002 lottery sales hit an all-time low. The main Lotto game was (and still is) in a tailspin. But soaring income from scratchcard games has driven a sales revival. Total lottery sales in the past year are just £77m above their lowest point, but scratchcard sales have gone up by £382m.

Last year Camelot raised £928m from scratchcards. Before the National Lottery started, the UK scratchcard market was worth a meagre £50m. Camelot calls this "strong growth in sales", but that does not reveal the whole truth. True, the games have been adroitly marketed, with clever film and event tie-ins, and the retail estate has been managed with efficiency to the point of ruthlessness. But most telling is Camelot's hiking of the number and price of scratchcard games themselves.

Scratchcards are recognised by gambling experts as the "hardest" and most addictive form of gambling. That means Camelot faces the dilemma of enough cards to sustain income to good causes, while at the same time not fuelling concerns about problem gambling. That point may well have arrived now, leaving Camelot with the uncomfortable question of whether it should find a sales strategy that drives more units of scratchcards instead of selling more to the same small group of less well off and vulnerable players.

Last Tuesday, Camelot's licence was confirmed for another 10 years. It is forecasting sales nearly double current levels. That could result in scratchcard sales of over £2bn a year.

The National Lottery Commission is sure to be called on to find out some basic facts about the social impact of the most successful games in Camelot's portfolio. Its report is likely to make uncomfortable reading, but if the current situation is left unchecked much longer, the Government may find itself picking up the political bill.

Meanwhile, with its new licence secured, the pressure intensifies on Camelot to continue growing income from scratchcards to counteract decline in other games. Lotto sales have quietly hit an all-time low. But the lottery desperately needs new players – not just more income from its existing ones.

Full article here: http://news.independent.co.uk/business/ana...icle2856772.ece