Charities suffering as scratchcard popularity hits profits

THE rising popularity of scratchcards means the National Lottery is giving away less money to charity than ever before while the profits for the company that runs it have soared, MPS have warned.

The Public Accounts Select Committee said that Camelot’s profits have risen by 122 per cent since 2009, “well in excess” of what was expected when it was given the licence to run the lottery.

However in the past year returns for good causes fell 15 per cent to £1.63billion, a record low in proportion to total sales. Camelot has forecast a further fall in income for good causes this year.

The fall in charitable giving is because scratchcards give as little as 5p per £1 to charity, compared to 34p per £1 from the traditional lottery draw.

MPS warned that the fall in funding for charities could be “disastrous” and the Committee says there is a risk that the funding promised to charities could become “unaffordable”.

In the 2016-2017 tax year, The Lottery Fund’s balance was £1.54billion, while the commitments made by charities was £3.04 billion, figures from the National Audit Office showed.

The Committee also accused Camelot of not doing enough to prevent young lottery players from developing gambling problems.

Sales of scratchcards and other instant-win products have risen by 118 per cent since 2009, while sales from traditional lottery draws have fallen £100m over the same period. Meanwhile, Camelot’s profits have risen from £39million to £71million.

Meg Hillier, who chairs the Public Accounts Committee, said: “With the current set-up, Camelot is incentivised to provide more scratchcards to boost its profits.

“The whole point of the lottery is to give money to good causes, and Camelot is failing in that part of the deal. It should look in the mirror and voluntarily offer to change the way the system works.”

The shift of people buying scratchcards is partly down

to the BBC no longer broadcasting the National Lottery draws, as well as tickets not stating that the proceeds go to charity, the Committee said. Changes to the game, such as increasing the number of Lotto balls, have also made them less popular.

Camelot told the Committee that the charity take from scratchcards is lower because more money is needed to be set aside for prizes.

The Gambling Commission said: “We are extremely disappointed that returns to good causes have declined and we will continue to hold Camelot to account.”