Lottery ticket sales up by £55m

Camelot head Dianne Thompson made the announcement

National Lottery ticket sales rose by over £55m to £2,409m in the first half of the financial year, says Camelot.

The Go For Gold scratch cards, which raise money for the Olympics, increased sales by over £1m a week since their July launch, the lottery operator said.

Camelot chief executive Dianne Thompson said it was the 11-year-old game's "longest ever period of growth".

Camelot said lottery players have raised a further £622.1m for good causes during the same time period.

Total ticket sales rose by 2.3% to £2,409.8m to 24 September, compared with £2,354.6m for the same period last year.

Retailers account for the biggest proportion of tickets sold.

The Go for Gold scratch cards have already raised £2.7m towards the 2012 Olympic Games being held in London.