A debate in parliament will consider allowing all society lotteries to set uncapped jackpots, rather than the current sales cap.
Society lotteries can currently give away 10% of the ticket sales as a prize, up to a maximum of £400,000.
The move would see Camelot – the only lottery operator allowed to offer larger prizes, face stronger competition from The Health Lottery, the People’s Postcode Lottery and others.
The Conservative MP Henry Bellingham who tabled the debate described Camelot as “arrogant” and said “I have had people from all parties in government saying it is a ridiculous situation and it is time for change.”
The People’s Health Trust distributes money raised by The Health Lottery. Its CEO John Hume said: “Modest changes to the way society lotteries work would enable us all to raise more for good causes.“
However, whether the law change would allow The Health Lottery to deliver larger jackpots is unclear, with no player winning its current £100,000 jackpot since February 2015, when it moved to a five draws per week system.
Criticising the Health Lottery over adverts promoting a possible £100,000 jackpot earlier this year, the Advertising Standards Authority stated: “We therefore considered the claim “up to £100k” no longer represented a realistic amount that was likely to be won as a jackpot prize.”
Oppositely, while the Health Lottery lobbies for larger prizes, this year Camelot ran an unsuccessful strategy that focused on creating more winners by providing smaller prizes. It has now changed course and unveiled a new approach.
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