National Lottery
Health Lottery says the figures prove its positive impact, but Camelot says it's too early to say
National Lottery ticket sales increased in the month after the Health Lottery started, according to figures released by Camelot.
Camelot, which runs the National Lottery, revealed that ticket sales totalled £616.6m in October, an increase of £13.9m, or 2.3 per cent, on the same month in 2010. The Health Lottery, owned by media proprietor Richard Desmond, began at the end of September.
Martin Hall, chief executive of the Health Lottery, said in a statement the data confirmed that the National Lottery sales figures had not been adversely impacted and were growing.
"From the outset, our research showed that the launch of the Health Lottery would offer the consumer choice, but importantly would also grow the lottery sector. We are confident we will continue to have a positive overall impact on the sector."
Camelot said in a statement it was too early to draw conclusions: "These sales cover a period during which the Health Lottery had only been running for a matter of weeks, so it is far too early to make any meaningful assumptions about whether or not it has had any impact on National Lottery sales."
"Our sales experience short-term fluctuations as a result of a number of factors, including big jackpots, rollovers, special draws, and current marketing and advertising campaigns."
