The talks are being held with Vodafone, Orange, O2, T-Mobile and 3 to allow people on all of those networks, as well as Virgin Mobile, Fresh, Tesco Mobile, Sainsbury's Mobile and OneTel customers to purchase tickets from draw-based games starting in autumn.
It has already embraced new media by selling tickets for the Wednesday and Saturday draws on Sky Active, as well as offering a variety of games on the .
Diane Thompson, chief executive of Camelot, said: "If 2003/4 was the year for developing and diversifying our game portfolio, 2004/5 will be the year for extending accessibility of the National Lottery. By making our games available in more stores and via more channels, we are confident that we will drive sales growth this year and beyond."
Camelot revealed today that sales for the National Lottery have increased by 拢40m over the last year, the first increase in sales for six years. The company reported sales for the year ending March 31 grew to $4.61bn, up from 拢4.57bn last year. Weekly sales currently stand at 拢88m a week, and that during the year 拢1.2bn was raised for good causes.
The turnaround comes a year ahead of Camelot's own predictions, with the company crediting the change to its strategy of growth and diversification. It has introduced 34 new scratchcards and added 600 new National Lottery terminals, as well as the new EuroMillions and Daily Play games.
Camelot has switched its advertising strategy over the past 12 months, following the disastrous reception of the "Live a Lotto" campaign fronted by Billy Connolly, which was replaced at the beginning of 2003 with a campaign emphasising the good work done by National Lottery funds.
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