Camelot battling 'lottery fatigue'

Aug 18, 2004, 10:51 am (3 comments)

UK National Lottery

Many of us may have despaired of ever becoming millionaires, or perhaps just fancy a flutter on something else.

Whatever the reason, the number of Britons playing the National Lottery has fallen faster in recent years than in any other form of gambling, a survey reveals.

Five years ago, more than three-quarters of adults regularly bought a ticket for the Saturday draw. That figure has now dropped by 17% to just under two-thirds.

By contrast, the proportion of people regularly betting on horse racing and other sports, or playing gaming machines, was roughly stable at one in ten.

Analysts at market researchers Mintel warned that operator Camelot was struggling against 'almost inevitable' lottery fatigue with the ten-year-old game.

Camelot's sales have fallen significantly from their peak seven years ago of more than £100m a week, although last year saw a slight increase of just under 1% to £88m a week.

Mintel found that participation in the main Saturday draw had slumped from 76% to 63% over five years.

The proportion of adults buying scratchcards or tickets for the Wednesday draw was down 10% in five years, while those playing Camelot's Thunderball game halved from 16% to 8%.

Researchers found the lottery's popularity waning fastest in southern England, with more than a third of those questioned spending less on the game than before.

Mintel claimed new National Lottery games such as Daily Play had 'failed to sustain long-term interest'.

One good sign for Camelot is that 4% of adults are already playing the EuroMillions game launched earlier this year with a joint jackpot across three countries.

Camelot has recently spent vast sums advertising the lottery and launching new products in a bid to revitalise sales.

These have been undermined by controversy over bizarre and dubious grants from lottery distributors, as highlighted by the Mail. At one point last year, Camelot claimed disillusionment among players was costing £1m a week in lost sales.

However, the company says it has turned the corner. A spokesman said: 'Our own market research shows participation rates steady at around 70% of adults.'

Daily Mail

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Comments

tg636

It's easy to get fatigued and sick of the lottery after going months and years without a substantial win. 

CASH Only

The Euro Millions game should help.

NETGURU

I found an easier way of winning both through an online lottery syndicate playing both the UK Lotto and Euromillions with massively improved odds. I'm not going to spam the forum so if anyone wants the address, please PM me. I've won around £400 since I started and now get paid to play.

 

cheers

tom

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