Camelot contests Gambling Commission participation figures
National Lottery operator says changes to Lotto game have produced an increase in player numbers
UK National Lottery operator Camelot has rejected media reports which claim recent changes to its flagship Lotto game have caused participation rates to “slump dramatically”.
The supposed decline, which was reported across several major news outlets, followed a report published by Great Britain’s Gambling Commission last week which found the percentage of people taking part in the bi-weekly draw had fallen from 46% in 2012 to 32% in 2015.
However, speaking to eGaming Review, Camelot stressed the Gambling Commission figures – which were drawn from 4,000 telephone surveys conducted during 2015 – do not match up with its own numbers.
“We use much larger sample sizes over longer periods of time for our own research,” a Camelot spokesperson said. “And that tells us that, although player numbers do tend to fluctuate over short periods of time, overall participation across all National Lottery games remains high.
“That’s backed up by the fact that we’ve achieved record sales, awarded record prize money and delivered almost ?2.7 billion for good causes ?over the last 18 months.
“This outstanding performance has continued since the successful changes we made to our flagship Lotto game last October,” the spokesperson added.
Camelot said it had raised ?179m for good causes last month – the highest total ever in a single month.
Changes to the Lotto have included increasing the price of a line from ?1 to ?2 and adding 10 extra numbers to the draw, which has taken the chances of hitting the jackpot from 14 million-to-one to 45 million-to-one. The longer odds have produced more rollovers and bigger jackpots.
Ben Haden, Gambling Commission director responsible for the National Lottery, said draw-based games across the world often tended to experience drop-offs in participation over time.
“And that’s why we’ve agreed to a number of changes in recent years, including Lotto changes,” Haden added. “This reinvigoration has seen an increase in sales for Lotto and consequently the amount going to good causes.”