Enabling Agreement
Camelot has announced that it has signed the Enabling Agreement with the National Lottery Commission and thereby officially sealed the deal to act as the operator of the National Lottery in the UK for ten years from 2009 to 2019. Of course, there was never really any doubt that this would happen, and Camelot have been celebrating winning the third National Lottery licence for several weeks now, but just as a marriage isn't over until the certificate has been signed, so Camelot's position wasn't official until the Enabling Agreement had been finalised.
Now that Camelot knows exactly where it stands until February 2019, the organisation is planning how to maximise the amount raised for good causes (more than £20 billion has been raised since the launched of the National Lottery in 1994) and how to maximise the number of lottery winners.
One plan which I have already mentioned in is for a global lottery - something that Camelot refer to as a "World Game" (see World Lottery). Other plans are for the launch of multiplayer games and of the rather vague sounding "lottery lifestyle games" (I'll let you know what those are as soon as I find out). The plan I am most interested in, however, is the launch of the Player Card.
Player cards are used in other countries, and although the UK version may differ in minor details, I expect the main principles to remain the same. You get a card that looks like a credit or supermarket loyalty card and register it so that it is linked to your name and address. Then, when you come to make your lottery entry, the card is swiped so that your numbers for the draw(s) you have entered are linked to you personally. This essentially means that you can't lose your ticket, and that if you win a major prize you will be notified if you don't come forward (for example, because you've been silly and haven't checked your numbers).
These plans are part and parcel of the third licence term bid, so we probably won't see a World Game or Player Card launched for a few years yet, but it's nice to have something new to look forward to in regards to the UK National Lottery. Until then, we still have Euromillions and the ability to keep our Lotto tickets in a safe place...
Article Last Updated: 04/09/2007 15:18:34
