‘If we don’t bid, or don’t win, then Camelot UK will cease to exist’

In reality, there were genuine fears that Britain had fallen out of love with the lottery. Railton’s job was simple: find out why, stop the rot and turn things around. “When I came into this role three years ago, I was really shocked that [other UK lotteries] were outspending us on marketing,” he says.  

Railton implemented a series of strategic changes that can loosely be boiled down to two key strategies: spend more on advertising and increase the prizes on offer.

With Camelot posting record ticket sales earlier this month, Railton’s initial remit has been fulfilled. “The plan has worked as you’ve seen by our record sales. We’re really pleased to have turned the business around and done what we set out to do.”

There is a cost to this strategy, however, as Camelot’s rivals are eager to point out. Although ticket sales are at an all-time, the £1.85bn generated for good causes is not a record. Critics claim this is proof that the lottery is no longer being run for the benefit of Britain as a whole.

Railton disagrees. Whether it be the People’s Postcode Lottery, the Health Lottery or even local community pools, Camelot has more competition. It has had to work harder to both retain and increase sales. “To be perfectly honest, we have made more [money for good causes]. But the environment has changed. We have put more money into prizes. And that’s the right thing to do for the long-term health of the business,” he says.

Railton has been given a little more time to prove to regulators that they should stick with Camelot. “The Gambling Commission has said the process is delayed by three months and [it is] likely to extend our licence by six months,” he says. “All that is sensible. Trying to run a competition in a global pandemic is not easy.”