Lotto: It’s terminal!

STORE BOSSES AXE MACHINES

SHOPKEEPERS claim they are paid a “pittance” to sell tickets by National Lottery giant Camelot.

Now some are considering handing back their terminals because it is “not worth the hassle”.

Ticket sales have plummeted 8.8%, with players fed up with the constant rollovers caused by the draw organisers adding 10 extra balls to the pot.

Convenience Store magazine revealed the cost of selling tickets. In an online message, one poster called Redmond said his shop handles 308 lottery transactions, including scratch cards, a week.

He said: “We earned 14p per transaction. It is difficult to see how any retailer who does not have Lotto would want it.”

Ash replied: “I have had Lottery ever since it came out. It was a decent earner but since the price rise and increase in numbers sales have gone down.”

A Yorkshire businessman said: “The lottery is not worth the hassle. I have five shops and the time it takes to process everything means I make a very small amount of money. “Plus the free spin doesn’t help because if that person had won a couple of quid they might have spent it in the shop but instead they just come in and claim a free spin and leave and I earn a few pence in a transaction fee.” Bosses are looking at a number of options, including reducing the price of the main Lotto draw or reverting to fewer balls. A Camelot spokesman said: “Retailers earn 5% commission for each drawbased game sold and 6% on each scratch card sold as well as 1% on certain prizes paid out in store. “On average each retailer makes an average of £6,500 in annual commission from selling National Lottery tickets.”