Camelot has announced National Lottery sales of £8,090.7 million for the 2021/22 financial year, which represents a decrease of £283.2 million on last year’s record sales of £8.3 billion.

Returns to Good Causes from National Lottery ticket sales, however, were the highest ever for the second consecutive year.

The decline was blamed on a decrease in sales of National Lottery Instants, which fell £240 million year on year to £3,443 million. This was attributed to greater competition for people’s attention and spend after the lifting of Covid restrictions, followed by growing economic uncertainty over the latter part of the year.

Scratchcard sales remain below pre-pandemic levels in line with people’s changing shopping habits.

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Camelot chairman, Sir Hugh Robertson, welcomed the results: “At a time when the National Lottery has faced uncertainty on a number of fronts, Camelot has once again raised a record amount for Good Causes from ticket sales, and has also ensured that a record-equalling £3.1 billion was once again generated for society through Good Causes, Lottery Duty and retailer commission – at a time when other funding sources are being squeezed.

“An incredible £46 billion has now been raised for National Lottery Good Causes – around 65% more than government expectations at launch. With sales of over £8 billion for two years running, the National Lottery as a whole remains in fantastic shape – with sales of draw-based games continuing to be especially strong.”

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Announcing the results, Camelot CEO Nigel Railton said: “Achieving National Lottery sales of over £8 billion two years in a row while maintaining very high levels of public participation – despite the challenging and changing external environment – proves that our strategy of offering great consumer choice in a safe and convenient way continues to be hugely successful. It’s also testament to the resilient, innovative and responsive business model that we’ve put in place over the last few years.”

Digital sales

Despite having a record number of people playing online, this year’s digital sales of £3,416.5 million were £93 million lower than last year, with players individually spending less as consumers enjoyed greater choice post lockdown, and also due to the introduction of lower online play and wallet limits for potentially at-risk players.

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Railton continued: “My 1,000 Camelot colleagues and I are incredibly proud of what we’ve built: a strong, resilient business and a huge UK brand that brilliantly connects the National Lottery’s unique purpose with play. In the year ahead, we’ll continue to invest and innovate to respond to the changing consumer environment because we all care deeply about the future of the National Lottery – and the vital difference that it continues to make to the whole of the UK.”

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