Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how his Department measured the return on investment of the £12.1m National Lottery Distribution Fund investment awarded to Camelot UK Lotteries Limited in August 2019.

The National Lottery is regulated by the Gambling Commission. The operator is permitted to seek joint investments in line with Condition 23 of Section 5 of the Third National Lottery Licence.

Details of requests for joint investments, the Commission’s decisions in response and the rationale supporting those decisions can be found on the Commission’s website.

In addition the Gambling Commission has provided the following information. In March 2021 the Commission approved a proposal from the operator for joint investment in National Lottery marketing of £69.4 million (£65.3 million of this was investment from the National Lottery Distribution Fund), with this being allocated as follows:

• £25.7 million to support an investment in marketing of the National Lottery brand. This will be invested to support the long-term health of the National Lottery by driving positivity, loyalty and an emotional connection to the brand.

• £37.3 million to support an investment in marketing of Lotto and EuroMillions.

• £6.4 million to support an investment in marketing of Set for Life.

This approval was granted having considered the Commission’s statutory duties in relation to the National Lottery. Specifically, the Commission identified no material risks to its two primary duties regarding propriety and players Interests and has a high level of assurance that the proposal will be beneficial in relation to maximising returns to good causes, particularly over the long-term.

The two investments referenced (in WPQ 14100 and 14101) focus on additional marketing to support the National Lottery brand. Specifically, the investments were targeted to support the long-term health of the National Lottery by driving positivity, loyalty and an emotional connection to the brand.

For each investment of this nature, the Commission undertakes a robust analytical assessment, as well as negotiation with the operator to ensure the best possible deal for good causes. The performance of such investments is then monitored by the Commission regularly after implementation. For brand investments, this is achieved through:

• Assessing extensive econometric analysis developed by the operator, which is subsequently assured externally and provides evidence of the positive impact of the investment on returns to good causes in the short term.

• Monitoring a wider range of key performance indicators, which provides evidence of the positive impact of the investment on the National Lottery brand over the longer term.

This evidence suggests that the return on investment has been positive in the short term, and that benefits have also been driven over the longer term.