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Gambling on Camelot's Future

``...But three of Budd's 176 recommendations could directly affect the Lottery's ability to raise funds for good causes: unrestricted cash bingo prizes; side-betting on the Lottery numbers organised by bookmakers; and new single-issue lotteries run by charities.

``Camelot argues that revenue for its own good causes could be cut by at least 30 per cent as a result.

``Michael Grade has taken over at the helm of Camelot, just as industry lobbying and departmental wrangling reaches fever pitch.

```'Camelot has been been operating on an uneven playing field. I've no sympathy for them,' said one leading industry figure. ...Now the Lottery has to innovate if it wants to survive.'

``Michael Grade, in street-fighting mode, responds: 'If the gloves are off and we are able to compete on equal terms - in terms of the amount of prize money we can offer and the games we can play - obviously that will help us to compete. But we're not.'

``'...If we've got one arm tied behind our back and are asked to compete with commercial operators doing it purely for shareholders - which I have no problem with - there's no social good in it, and everyone had better understand the consequences.'

``Grade wants to change the way the Lottery is regulated. Instead of having strict rules capping prizes and restricting games, he wants the right to innovate, with regulators punishing Camelot if it gets things wrong.

``Above all else, Grade wants a daily draw. 'Love to see it. What I'd like to see is regulatory commitment that really allows us to be innovative. At the moment the Lottery Commission is a micro-regulator.'

``But none of that appears to be on the horizon. What does is a wholesale shake-up at Camelot.

``...Grade's appointment should help dispel the siege mentality that permeates the organisation. This is hardly surprising. Camelot, says Grade, lost a third of its workforce in the two-and-a-half years leading up to its new licence award.

``...Although Camelot is unloved, the likelihood is that the Government won't hurt the Lottery by delaying the side-betting and single-issue lotteries until mainstream lottery sales improve..."

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