Bob Unsworth wrote to say he’d recently had a call from a rep about the Lottery. “He arranged to visit and we looked forward to discussing having the National Lottery in our store. When he arrived he explained that it was only to be the new Scratchcard terminal that we would be allowed.

“So we thought okay, we will go for it and see what happens. The representative then explained that there would be a £25 a month charge to cover ‘costs’. He said that we would then need to sell 13 cards a day to cover our monthly charge.

“I think this is unreasonable, because if all 10,000 retailers opted in then Camelot would receive £3m per annum income - which I’m sure is not the cost of running the Scratchcard terminals each year. In my opinion, Camelot is being greedy, and running costs should be taken from the cost of the scratchcard - not the retailer. We have politely declined their offer.”

Camelot has replied: “Mr Unsworth is entitled to his opinion, but we believe the nominal £25 fee is reasonable. These new National Lottery Scratchcard outlets have required significant investment from Camelot in terms of the bespoke dispenser/terminal needed, the extensive scoping/rollout programme and the ongoing level of support involved. From a commercial perspective, we would not have been able to offer this opportunity on this scale without asking for a small contribution from retailers - and it is very much a contribution as opposed to a cost-covering exercise.

“In most cases, the £25 a month for a service that has offered, on average, about £400 per week in sales hasn’t deterred retailers. In fact, more than 9,000 have already told us that they want a Scratchcard terminal and understand the commission and footfall benefits that having the National Lottery can bring, as well as the attraction of National Lottery Scratchcards as an impulse purchase.”