UK National Lottery operator Camelot has revealed record sales of £1.58bn across its digital channels – an increase of 18 per cent year-on-year, with mobile sales (including smartphones and tablets but principally smartphones), increasing by 53 per cent. Smartphone revenues increased by 71 per cent year-on-year.

Mobile sales now account for almost half of all interactive National Lottery sales, and have been boosted by a range of new features, including instant win games, and the ability to buy tickets through the National Lottery app using Barclays Pingit.

Overall, Camelot achieved record National Lottery ticket sales of £7.6bn for the 2015-16 financial year, £317m up on the previous year. Since the lottery’s launch in 1994, it has raised £35bn for good causes. The figures were revealed at an event this morning hosted by Camelot CEO Andy Duncan and also featuring 5-times Olympic Gold Medal winner Sir Steve Redgrave and UK Sport chief executive Liz Nicholl.

After the event, Camelot’s digital director Tim Copper gave Mobile Marketing a sneak preview of a new addition to the Lottery app. It’s a QR code reader, with instant access from the homescreen, which will work in tandem with QR codes which will be printed on National Lottery tickets, enabling the ticket-holder to scan the ticket after a draw to see if they have won. The QR codes will go live in the next couple of months.