National Lottery operator Camelot has finally bowed to retailer pressure and allowed trading to start at the earlier time of 5am.
Retailers had previously been prevented from selling lottery tickets before 6am because of operational issues.

Mahendra Jadeja, who runs a large newsagent in North London, had been campaigning for an earlier opening time for many months.

“Camelot had been concerned that retailers would not get customer service help until 6am, and that overnight software updates might affect running the tills earlier,” independent retailer Mahendra said.

“This move will help many retailers like me who open early but have not been able to serve the Lottery before 6am. This is definitely good news for all, and good news for good causes,’ he said, adding: “I sold my first National Lottery tickets at 5.02am today!”

A spokesman for Camelot said the company always took retailers’ concerns seriously. “Retailers account for almost 90% of Lottery sales and it’s thanks to them that it is so successful. We knew that this was an issue we had to take seriously, and have changed policy accordingly.”