October news update

Welcome to the National Lottery Commission’s latest news update. We hope that you will enjoy this short update on our regulatory work and the National Lottery.  If you would like to subscribe to recieve this by email, send your details to us at info@natlotcomm.gov.uk. 

Annual report 2008-09

Our annual report for 2008-09 provides a detailed summary of our independent regulation over the past year which included the smooth transition to the new Lottery and roll-out of over 27,500 new terminals. It is also a useful reference source for National Lottery facts and figures and can be downloaded from our website by clicking here.. If you would prefer a hard copy of the report, please email your contact details to us.   

Quarterly good causes funding reports

An important part of our work is to ensure that as much money as possible is being raised for good causes and to monitor this carefully. As part of this work, we publish quarterly reports to show how much has been raised for the good causes and London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The reports are all available on our website, here. So far the Lottery has generated more than £400 million towards the cost of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The next quarterly report will be available on our website on 19 November.   

Enforcement Policy Consultation

We have just published our latest consultation asking for views on our draft enforcement policy for the National Lottery. This policy explains our enforcement approach for the 2009-2019 licence and how we can keep making sure the National Lottery is run fairly and safely. The consultation is part of our work to improve our regulatory model, and applying the principles of Better Regulation to our work. You can find more information and download the consultation document here.

EuroMillions licensing

We are currently working with Camelot on licensing changes to the EuroMillions game. We welcome Camelot’s strategy to refresh the National Lottery portfolio as promised in their bid and our role is to make sure the proposed changes to EuroMillions reflect the interests of National Lottery players. For more information on the proposed changes to EuroMillions click here.  

Camelot Shareholders

You may have read recent reports about Camelot’s shareholders considering the sale of their shares. The National Lottery Commission has an important role as we approve the transfer of any shareholding. If the sale proceeds we would consider potential buyers in terms of fitness and propriety and financial stability. This is to safeguard the continued integrity and excellent reputation of the UK’s National Lottery. For more information about Camelot’s shareholders visit its website here.  

15th Anniversary of the National Lottery

It will be fifteen years since the first National Lottery draw was broadcast live to millions on 19 November. The Lottery has had an independent regulator throughout that time to help keep the National Lottery fair and safe for players. For more information about our work click here. To find out more about the amazing projects which have been funded during that time visit the National Lottery good causes website here.  

New licence raising even more for good causes

We are now eight months into the new ten year licence which started on 1 February 2009. Through the design and implementation of the new licence, the Commission has created a strong foundation for the Lottery to meet future challenges and to make sure that the money generated for the good causes remains as high as possible. Thanks to the new retention structure we designed in the licence together with Camelot’s refreshed Lottery operation, we estimate that good causes will be better off by an extra £60-£100 million each year if sales of £5 billion are maintained. For more information, visit our website here

Underage Lottery play research 

As part of our ongoing programme of research, we commissioned leading research organisation Ipsos MORI to carry out a major study to measure levels of underage Lottery play. The study, based on a survey of almost 9000 children, is the only British research of its kind, and shows that the number of 12 – 15 year olds illegally buying National Lottery products has dropped to the lowest levels in over a decade. We are pleased that our controls to prevent underage play are effective, but there is no room for complacency and we will continue to work hard to maintain this downward trend. To view the full report, click here.