National Lottery sales reach £8.19bn in 2022-23

The figure for the 12 months to the end of March 2023 was £99.6m higher than in 2021-22 and the second highest annual total since the National Lottery’s launch in 1994.

Draw-based games remained the most popular choice for consumers, with sales reaching £4.74bn, an increase of £9.19m on the previous year. 

Camelot put this down to a strong performance by EuroMillions, helped by 30 draws offering jackpots of more than £100m. Lotto also continued to perform steadily despite fewer “Must Be Won” draws over the period.

Meanwhile, instants sales were £7.7m higher year-on-year at £3.45bn. Camelot said this was mainly due to players purchasing Instant Win Games as spontaneous add-on products to go with their EuroMillions tickets.

The rise in instants sales came despite a fall in scratchcard sales, which Camelot said was due to changing shopping habits and the ongoing challenging retail environment.

Digital growth

Breaking down how players purchased products, digital sales reached a record £3.69bn, up £274.2m on the previous year. Camelot put this down to attractive EuroMillions draws and a number of initiatives including an update for draw-based games on the National Lottery app.

Mobile remained the channel of choice with £2.76bn in total digital sales across tablets and smartphones. The National Lottery’s app was downloaded 2.5 million times during the year and accounted for over 70% of all mobile sales.

Turning to retail and, despite tough trading conditions, in-store sales recovered slightly over the second half of the year to reach £4.50bn for the full year.

Camelot said it continued to invest and support retail partners, with in-store standards and rewards programmes helping boost retailers’ income by awarding almost £540,000 in cash rewards to independent shopkeepers over the period. 

The 43,000-strong network of National Lottery retailers also shared £254.7m worth of sales commission, working out at around £6,000 per store. Since the National Lottery launched in 1994, £7.70bn has been paid in commission to retailers.

Good Causes

Turning to player winnings and consumers won a total of £4.69bn, a rise of £81.7m from the previous year and the second-highest amount on record. The National Lottery created 382 new millionaires in the process, equivalent to more than one a day.

Including unclaimed prizes, which are passed to Good Causes after 180 days, some £1.88bn was generated for Good Causes over the period. This took the total amount raised since its launch to more than £47.0bn.

“We’re delighted to have grown National Lottery sales year-on-year to their second highest on record, creating almost 400 millionaires in the process,” Camelot co-chief executives Clare Swindell and Neil Brocklehurst said. 

“With £36.0m being raised each week for Good Cause projects around the UK and returns from ticket sales rising to their best-ever level, it’s clear that The National Lottery is delivering for players and society in what are very challenging times.

“We have more exciting plans lined up for the year ahead to ensure that The National Lottery remains front of mind and brings people together at key national moments. And, we also remain committed to delivering the National Lottery in a safe and socially-responsible way.”

Allwyn takes control

The 2022-23 financial year was the final year that Camelot will operate the National Lottery, with Allwyn due to take control on 1 February 2024.

Earlier this year, Allwyn completed its acquisition of Camelot UK from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan board (OTPP). The deal covered all Camelot UK operations, including the current rights to operate the National Lottery until assuming control next year.

“This past year’s performance demonstrates the core strengths of the National Lottery in consistently delivering for good causes, even in an environment where consumer spending is under pressure,” Allwyn chief executive Robert Chvátal said.

“We were delighted to integrate Camelot into the Allwyn group earlier this year, bringing their experience and know-how to Allwyn UK’s vision for the fourth licence. 

“It is great to be working with them on the successful delivery of The National Lottery through this year and over the next decade as part of the Allwyn team, while maintaining a steadfast focus on safe play.”