Camelot Group, which currently operates the UK National Lottery, has restored a free lottery helpline especially for its independent retailers. The free phone number has been reinstated as part of the company’s new initiative to support independent retailers. The support package amounts to £4 million and is called AllStars programme.
As revealed by Camelot, the retailer hotline was used by a large number of retailers on a daily basis. The helpline is to be transferred to a free phone number on June 5th.
The Head of Camelot’s retail division, James Pearson, explained that the operator of the UK National Lottery planned to unveil other special initiatives over the upcoming months in order to prove how committed it was to its retail partners. As revealed by Mr. Pearson, all independent lottery retailers of Camelot would be visited by executives of the company over the summer. These meetings would be focused on discussing the UK Lottery operator’s plans for the trade related to independent retailers.
The free help hotline was officially turned off in December 2015, after Camelot Group made the decision to replace the line with a premium 0844 number. The decision faced the strong criticism of many retailers at that time. Also, according to the trade body of the National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN), retailers would be forced to pay more money in order to be given the opportunity to use the help hotline than the amount that they would earn from the lottery tickets and scratchcards sale’s commission.
So, a year and a half later, the operator of the UK National Lottery announced the first phase of the AllStars support package, which has been especially created for the 28,000 independent lottery retailers. The first phase of the initiative is aimed to see the independent retailers receive more point-of-sale (POS) materials and signage like floor mats, door and pavement signs, poster frames, etc. What is more, the sales team of Camelot Group would be at the retailers’ disposal for “increased contact”.
The truth is that the operator’s retail partners play an important part in other initiatives of Camelot. As revealed by Mr. Pearson himself, they helped the company deliver more than £30 million on a weekly basis for Good Causes.
Paul Baxter, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Federation of Retail Newsagents, commented on the new support package of Camelot Group. He praised the UK National Lottery operator for realising the important part played by independent retailers for the overall success of the lottery and its fund-raising initiatives for good causes nationwide. According to Mr. Baxter, the release of the new support package, including the reinstatement of the help hotline, came to prove how significant the role of retailers was for Camelot.
NFRN’s CEO praised the decision of Camelot and called it a “vote of confidence”. He also confirmed that the NFRN would retain its close collaboration with Camelot in order to generate extra sales.
- Author
Daniel Williams
