National Lottery sales across retail fell by 4.7% to £2.28bn for the six months ending 24 September 2022, the latest financial results from Camelot have revealed.

The decline was attributed by the National Lottery operator to “difficult conditions in retail,” including a drop in footfall in some sectors and customers favouring more infrequent, bigger shopping trips.

Despite the decrease, Camelot said retail remains its largest division for National Lottery Sales, outlining its commit to support its independent retailers. This support includes continuing its National Lottery standards programme, which awarded £268,000 in cash incentives over the six-month period.

Independent retailers also received £125.6m in sales commission over the period, which Camelot claimed is equivalent to £2,800 per store.

Overall, the results revealed that National Lottery sales in the period reach a record £4.063bn, an increase of £102.5m. Camelot said the record figure was helped by draw-based games, which saw a sales increase of £166.7m to £2.39bn. EuroMillions was a major sales driver.

Online National Lottery games also experienced a growth of £1.8bn, an increase of £212m. Sales of mobile-based games rose by £218.5m to £1.3bn.

Camelot chief executive Nigel Railton said: “Thanks to the commitment and professionalism of everyone at Camelot – and all of our hard work over the last few years – this record half-year performance confirms that we have a very healthy and successful National Lottery that continues to benefit the whole of the UK. These fantastic results also demonstrate our ability to adapt quickly and decisively to fast-changing and challenging economic conditions, while maintaining our longstanding reputation for selling tickets in a socially responsible way – attributes that have helped to keep The National Lottery in excellent health at such an important time for the UK.”

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