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National Lottery could be scrapped from Newsagents under new licence bidding war. (PA) Newsagents across the UK have expressed concerns about the future of the National Lottery as bids for a new operator have opened after almost three decades. Newsagents are worried a new operator would want to accelerate online and app sales which could prove disastrous for local convenience stores. The Gambling commission is set to announce whether Camelot will keep hold of the licence for a fourth term in the next six months. And according to The Grocer, nearly half of convenience retailers (44%) say the National Lottery is more important to their business than ever.
National Lottery could be scrapped from Newsagents under new licence bidding war. (PA) Newsagents across the UK have expressed concerns about the future of the National Lottery as bids for a new operator have opened after almost three decades. Newsagents are worried a new operator would want to accelerate online and app sales which could prove disastrous for local convenience stores. The Gambling commission is set to announce whether Camelot will keep hold of the licence for a fourth term in the next six months. And according to The Grocer, nearly half of convenience retailers (44%) say the National Lottery is more important to their business than ever.
44,000 retailers across the UK currently work with Camelot earning around 5% commission on each draw-based game. Jason Birks, deputy VP at the National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN), said: “Currently, the National Lottery does have an online presence but I’ve heard that some of the bidders want to do a lot more online and from a high street point of view, and from the point of view of community-based retailing, we need to protect bricks and mortar. “Those in government need to not only view online as the ‘trendy’ thing to do but bear in mind that people still like to visit bricks and mortar retailing.”