British lottery chiefs step up commercial services bid

The UK's National Lottery operator Camelot today stepped up its efforts to appease regulators over plans to offer extra commercial services through its terminals.

The group outlined a raft of measures it hopes will reverse the National Lottery Commission’s (NLC) recent initial decision to block proposals that would see it provide mobile phone top-ups and electronic bill payment services.

Camelot said the NLC had agreed to consult on the remedies put forward – which include a commitment to full transparency, such as publishing separate accounts for the new business and employing a competition law officer to police the service.

The NLC has now extended its review to September 17, but Camelot claimed each month of delay was costing around half a million pounds of lost donations to good causes.