Scratch-n-sniff cards on Lottery menu

SCRATCH cards that give off the smell of chocolate could appear on Britain’s shelves as control of the National Lottery is handed over to Czech-owned gambling business Allwyn.

After months of legal wrangling, the Gambling Commission has signed a 10-year contract for Allwyn to run the National Lottery. The deal gives the new operator “greater flexibility” in how it runs the lottery and Allwyn is understood to want to dramatically increase the number of people buying scratchcards.

Sir Keith Mills, Allwyn bid chairman, said: “In our bid proposals we set out our plans to win back customers that have stopped playing and to bring a new generation of players to the National Lottery by introducing new games and technology to capture the imagination of the nation.”

Sources said the operator wants up to 70pc of the population to buy scratch cards. One idea thought to be being considered is chocolate-flavoured scratch-n-sniff cards, which Allwyn offers in other markets and proved popular.

Allwyn, owned by Czech billionaire Karel Komárek, was selected as “preferred bidder” earlier this year, replacing Camelot.