The National Lottery is currently up for renewal having been run by Camelot since its inception in 1994.

The initial excitement has long since gone and the proportion of the population who participate has been falling over time.

What very few people realise is that the lottery as a gambling proposition is very poor with around only 55% of the ticket price being allocated to players’ prizes. Camelot’s operating costs, shareholders returns and retained profits account for 7% and government duties account for 12% before any funds are allocated to good causes.

The good causes are of course mostly worthy of support however even if three quarters of the funds allocated to truly worthwhile and needy recipients, I am sure that many of the projects such as monies provided to develop Wembley Stadium (like there is no money in Football) or funding vanity projects like Transgender Ballet companies or restoring old buildings owned by foreign multi-millionaires would not be approved of by most players.

At the end of the day this means that even those players who are accepting that the stake involves a charitable element it is a fact that only around 75% is genuinely routed to prizes and charitable projects that they would accept were worthwhile.

Can you imagine a slot with a 75% RTP and a volatility 100,000 times worse than Bonanza ever being popular? That 25% heads to fill the pockets of others is probably not widely understood.

Any new operator will need to reinvent the proposition otherwise the ageing population that plays the lottery will disappear as the years progress.

Any good ideas on what any new operator could do to reinvigorate the lottery or is it going to become a thing of the past.