Starting from 1 February, Allwyn, the new operator of the National Lottery, has stated that a fifth of UK post offices will stop selling lottery tickets and scratchcards. The Post Office terminated its group contract with the National Lottery in 2020, deciding that branches had a choice regarding selling these products. Allwyn stated that reasons for failure to continue ranged from religious beliefs to low sales. Some postmasters revealed that they would have lost a sizeable amount of money if they continued to stock these items.
The National Federation of SubPostmasters (NFSP) cited scratchcards as the main issue for many post offices. Calum Greenhow, who runs a post office in Scotland alongside his wife, and is also the chief executive of the NFSP, commented “We would still be selling [lottery tickets] if it wasn’t for the scratchcards.” Gambling Commission rules stipulate that retailers cannot sell lottery tickets without also stocking scratchcards. Meanwhile, under the former group contract, the Post Office covered the cost of the cards, whereas under the new arrangement with Allwyn each individual branch must pay for their own stock.
New lottery operator Allwyn revealed that 900 out of the 5,800 branches that had previously stocked National Lottery products did not sign up to continue. According to Allwyn, over 600 have chosen not to continue and up to 200 others were unable to due to county court judgements. Meanwhile, the Post Office has stated it spent a year “supporting postmasters to transition to the new lottery provider.”
Allwyn’s new CEO, Andria Vidler, commented, “Retailers see this as a real encouragement to get people out,” adding that she believes lottery products attract people to the high street. Her company acquired a ten-year licence to operate the lottery, taking over from Camelot, which had run it since 1994. The National Lottery is one of the biggest lotteries in the world and has raised over £48bn for good causes across the UK
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