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Digital Growth leads to record UK National Lottery sales

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Digital gaming activities lead to a record high in UK National Lottery sales and Good Cause contributions.


It’s no secret that digital gaming has completely changed the gambling industry.

With digital games increasing and more sites allowing for online gaming entertainment, it has also led to the UK National Lottery reaching a record of £4.06 billion in sales.

Record sales with digital growth

It seems that the first six months of the 2022-2023 financial year have been quite promising for Camelot UK Lotteries. They recently revealed that the National Lottery sales had reached a record high of £4.06bn. With the main driving factor being a digital record performance.

From 1 April up to 24 September, the sales were already 2.6% higher than that of the previous year. It is also the first time that sales have managed to surpass the £4bn mark in nearly 3 decades.

According to the report, draw-based games continue to be the favourite - generating £2.4bn in sales in H1, indicating a 7.5% year-on-year increase. The EuroMillions, in particular, had a strong performance thanks to larger jackpot draws.

Impressive instant win stats and numbers

The Lotto performed well despite that decrease in sales during the ‘Must be Won’ draws. Scratch Cards and Online Instant Win Games sales (£1.67bn) were about 3.7% lower than the previous year. This is due to reduced in-store sales, thanks to the decrease in in-store shopping activity.

The National Lottery has a wide range of instant win games accessible where the prizes never run out. In fact, every week, there are about £14.4m in winnings on Instant Win Games.

Games such as Winter Wonderlines can be played at £3 and has the potential to award wins of £300K. Play games like Festive Lines Gold at £2 to win a top prize of £50,000. Or enjoy Christmas Bingo Silver for £1 per round to trigger wins of £10,000.

When it comes to online sales, National Lottery sales were up 13% at £1.84bn, which is a new record in terms of digital performance. There was also an increase in mobile sales, with a 19% year-on-year increase to £1.37bn.

According to Camelot, this reflects the shift from in-store to mobile shopping. In this first half of the year, the operator has seen an uptake in members, with 1.1 million players signing up and increasing the digital customer base to 10.7 million. This being said, retail remains responsible for the largest National Lottery sales.

The charity drive

Another big win is that the amount going to ‘Good Causes’ reached £956.5m. This is the highest amount ever to be distributed in the first 6 months of the financial year. In essence, about 8.1% more has been generated for Good Causes since the National Lottery was first launched in 1994.

The industry is focusing more on the safety of gaming and contribution to charity organisations. There are various games that contribute to the Good Cause funds, ranging from regular online slots to instant win games like Bingo and Scratch Cards.

Most operators give at least 0.1% of their annual revenue to charities yearly. Donations go to different charities and approved recipients like GambleAware.

Top online casinos that donate to charities include William Hill, Unibet Casino, Betfred Casino, Guts Casino and Rizk Casino. While many operators have stepped up to the plate, there are still others who are encouraged to increase their efforts.

Published: December 13, 2022

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Article by Stelly

CasinoWow Contributor

Hey there! I am Stelly, and happily, I'm part of CasinoWow's content team. It excites me to be able to write and share with all gambling enthusiasts unbiased reviews and news that contribute to the gambling community and industry. Thankfully, I also have the chance to help you make an informed choice for casino brands and games, as well as provide interesting guides and news.

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