MPs savage Camelot’s ‘excess’ lottery profit as good causes cash falls

NATIONAL Lottery operator Camelot was castigated by MPs last night for making ‘excess’ profits while the amount raised for good causes has fallen.

Over the past year the money handed to charities has fallen by 15 per cent as the public moved towards scratch cards rather than entering traditional draws.

Despite this, Camelot has made profits well in excess of what was envisaged in its 2009 licence, MPs on the Commons public accounts committee (PAC) said.

Profits more than doubled between 2009/10 and 2016/17 to £71million. Over the same period, the amount given to good causes went up by just £31million to £1.5billion – an increase of 2 per cent. The MPs criticised the Gambling Commission for not including a break clause in the 14-year contract with the Lottery operator. This means nothing can be done to stop soaring profits because the terms of the contract can only be changed with Camelot’s agreement.

The drop in returns for good causes occurred because more people bought scratch cards, while sales of draw-based games declined. Returns for good causes are much lower for scratch cards (around 10 per cent) than draw- based games (around 30 per cent). Camelot has said this is due to the need to offer a higher proportion of proceeds as prizes to encourage consumers to participate.

Labour MP Meg Hillier, chairman of the PAC, said declining sales could mean Lotteryfunded programmes will become unaffordable.

‘ Raising money for good causes is one of the founding principles of the National Lottery but this objective is under threat,’ she said.

‘It would be a sad and significant loss to many deserving organisations and individuals if that funding, which has amounted to some £37billion since 1994, should dissipate as a result of inaction now. Our

‘Lessons must be learned’

report lays bare the need for a concerted effort from Government, the Gambling Commission and Camelot, a monopoly supplier whose profits more than doubled in seven years while returns for good causes grew by just 2 per cent.

‘It is a stark illustration of the challenge to be tackled that figures for 2016/17 show a drop in good causes year-onyear income of 15 per cent. Lessons must be learned from the renegotiation of Camelot’s licence in 2012 which was too generous to the provider.’

A Camelot spokesman said it was working to maximise returns to good causes, adding: ‘During the third licence period annual returns to good causes have been, on average, 30 per cent higher than under the previous licence.’