Camelot today (23 October) announced that it has reduced its CO₂ emissions in 2006/7 by 29% – successfully beating its target of 15%.

Camelot has reduced its CO₂ emissions through a variety of approaches, including switching to green electricity, converting almost all its transport fleet to diesel, and greater energy efficiency in all offices.

All lottery tickets printed at terminals are now on recycled paper – including some sourced from used paper in Camelot’s own offices. In addition, National Lottery Scratchcards are also now being manufactured using paper from sustainable, managed sources. As a result, 20% of paper used by Camelot is now recycled, and 60% is from sustainable sources.

In a move which further reflects Camelot’s ongoing mission to operate The National Lottery in a responsible manner, the company has also become the first major lottery operator in the world to go carbon neutral. Camelot is offsetting its emissions by investing in the Te Apiti wind farm in New Zealand, the world's first Gold Standard offset project.

Camelot Chief Executive Dianne Thompson said: “2006/7 was the first year that we set a target for reducing our carbon emissions. We thought 15% would be pretty tough – so to achieve nearly double that is a fantastic tribute to the commitment of everyone who works here.”

Camelot’s work to prevent underage play of The National Lottery has also produced its best-ever results. Operation Child, Camelot’s ground-breaking scheme designed to keep National Lottery retailers vigilant against selling to under-16s, saw its best ever year of results in 2006 as first refusal rates to test purchasers rose to 94.5 per cent, from its earlier record of 92.7 per cent in 2005.

The results are detailed in Camelot’s Corporate Responsibility Report and Annual Report, both published today, and also include the company’s success in meeting challenging performance standards:

• Retail Systems: The availability of lottery terminals for ticket sales hit 100% in 2006/7, with availability to validate prizes at 99.95%, beating the targets of 99.50% and 99.00% respectively.



• Interative Systems: On interactive channels – national-lottery.co.uk, Sky Active, and Play by Text on mobile phones – games availability was at 99.64%, and prize payment systems availability was 100%, beating the stretching targets for both, which were set at 99.0%.

The reports also reveal that Camelot’s success in operating The National Lottery continues to be based on large numbers of people spending small amounts of money.

During 2006/7, Camelot moved from fifth to fourth place in the global rankings of lotteries by sales, published in the internationally-recognised La Fleur’s World Lottery Almanac. More than 70% of the UK adult population play The National Lottery on a regular basis, but the average weekly spend is less than £3.

A year of lottery landmarks is highlighted in the reports – a year when Camelot created its 2,000th millionaire and when the amount raised for Good Causes passed the £20 billion mark.

That money has so far been used to fund more than 280,000 individual awards, an average of 93 grants for every postcode area in the UK. That amounts to the largest programme of civic and social regeneration since the 19th Century.

Camelot’s work to raise Corporate Responsibility standards across the globe is also highlighted in the reports. Chief Executive Dianne Thompson led the World Lottery Association’s drive to introduce a Responsible Gaming Framework, committing lotteries around the world to high standards of player protection. The framework was agreed by 140 lotteries – and, thanks to further work led by Camelot, a complementary set of standards was also adopted earlier in 2007 by the European Lottery Association.

Dianne Thompson said: “These reports further highlight Camelot’s commitment to social responsibility, something we will continue to champion over the coming year. They also demonstrate that Camelot is continuing to run every aspect of the lottery in a cost-efficient and responsible manner, putting us in a great position to launch the groundbreaking new plans we have for the start of the next lottery licence in 2009.”

The Camelot Annual Report and Financial Statement, and the company’s Corporate Responsibility Report, are both available at http://www.camelotgroup.co.uk/.

For further information, please contact

Robert Byrne, Media Relations Manager: 020 7632 5748
Ben Rosier, Head of Media Relations: 020 7632 5743
Camelot Press Office: 020 7632 5711

Notes to Editors:

• Camelot Group plc is the licensed operator of The National Lottery® and is committed to raising money for the Good Causes designated by Parliament.  Camelot is not responsible for distributing or awarding these funds.



• To date, over £20 billion has been raised for Good Causes by The National Lottery, and more than 280,000 individual awards have been made across the UK – the biggest programme of civic and social regeneration since the 19th Century.  The National Lottery has given away over £29.4 billion in prizes and created more than 2,000 millionaires or multi-millionaires since launch in 1994.



• Camelot runs one of the most cost-efficient lotteries in the world, with around 5 per cent of total revenue taken in operating costs. At 40 per cent of total sales (28 per cent to Good Causes and 12 per cent in lottery duty to the Government), Camelot returns a higher proportion of lottery revenue back to society than any other lottery operator in the world. National Lottery retailers receive 5 per cent of total revenue in commission, and 50 per cent of sales is paid out to players in prizes.



• Camelot is committed to the highest standards in player protection and social responsibility in both the retail and interactive environments. The National Lottery website, Sky Active and Play By Text services have been accredited by GamCare, the UK’s national centre for information, advice and practical help regarding the social impact of gambling – while Camelot’s approach to game design, test purchasing and retailer vigilance campaigns ensures player protection at retail. Camelot is ranked first in the leisure sector in Business in the Community’s 2006 Corporate Responsibility Index.



• For further information on Camelot, The National Lottery and its games, please visit the following websites: www.camelotgroup.co.uk and www.national-lottery.co.uk.



• Players of all National Lottery games must be aged 16 or over.


2007 Annual Report and Financial Statements

2007 Corporate Responsibility Report


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