UK: National Lottery's Camelot anticipates "Super September" with three special draws

Camelot, the operator of the National Lottery in the UK, is gearing up for what it calls a 'Super September' with three special event draws for Lotto and EuroMillions, providing retailers with an opportunity to boost sales and foot traffic.

On Saturday, September 2, there will be a $25.19 million (£20 million) 'Must Be Won' Lotto draw, with special point-of-sale materials already delivered to retailers. Camelot estimates that this draw could result in a sales increase of up to 56%.

Less than two weeks later, on Friday, September 15, there will be a EuroMillions 10 UK Millionaires Guaranteed draw, where ten lucky UK players will win $1.26 million (£1 million) each. In addition, there will be the EuroMillions mega jackpot up for grabs as standard. 

Retailers can set up special point-of-sale materials starting from Monday, September 4, and Camelot predicts a potential sales increase of up to 53%.

To cap off the 'Super September,' on Friday, September 29, there will be an estimated $138.5 million (£110 million) EuroMillions Super Jackpot draw. Retailers can begin placing point-of-sale materials for this draw on Monday, September 18, and Camelot suggests that sales could see an uplift of up to 70%.

Karl Southworth, Camelot’s head of field sales, commented on the upcoming draws, saying: "We’ve got a super September of draws lined up for National Lottery players and retailers. This will present lots of additional sales opportunities, as players come into stores looking for their ticket to the millions of pounds on offer.”

“As always, there are a number of things retailers can do to boost sales, including talking to customers about the big draws, suggesting they buy a Lucky Dip ticket with their groceries, and making sure special POS is sited and ready to draw attention to the enormous prizes on offer."

Camelot emphasized the importance of retailers in contributing to the $37.78 million (£30 million) raised by players each week for Good Causes through National Lottery ticket sales.

In May 2023, Camelot announced sales figures for the 2022/23 financial year, making it the second-highest annual sales total since the launch of The National Lottery in 1994. 

Total sales amounted to £8.19 billion ($10.09 billion). The remarkable performance also resulted in a record-breaking £1.8 billion return to Good Causes, providing crucial funding for projects across the UK.