Camelot has reported increased ticket sales for the first six months of its 2018/19 financial year (April 1 to September 29, 2018).
Total sales were up 5.3% on the first half of 2017/18 to £3,456.3m. This compares favourably to the same period a year ago, when sales had dropped 3.2%.
The turnaround follows a wide-ranging strategic review launched by the lottery operator in June 2017 to address falling sales. This led to a number of game changes and a £20m three-year initiative to boost retailer engagement.
Accounting for 75% of all sales, retail remains the largest National Lottery sales channel. Retail sales over the last half-year grew by £98.5m to £2,624.9m – with retailers earning £147.2m in commission, £7.4m more than in the first half of 2017/18.
Over the same period, sales across The National Lottery’s digital channels grew to a record £831.4m, an increase of £77.4m. Mobile sales increased by £99.8m to an all-time high of £431.6m, with sales through smartphones and tablets now accounting for over 50% of all digital sales.
Sales of draw-based games increased by £39.9m to £1,960.7m, while sales of Scratchcards and online Instant Win Games increased by £136.0m to £1,495.6m.
Announcing the results, Camelot CEO Nigel Railton said: “Thanks to the work we’ve been carrying out following our comprehensive review of the business, we’ve made a very positive start to the financial year across the board.
“We’ll be looking to build on this momentum by continuing to focus on those areas that we identified in the review. We’ve got some great plans for the second half of the year.”
