Lottery Euro Millions

A Costcutter store in Kent has been banned from selling lottery tickets or scratch cards following a complaint.

Lottery operator Camelot has placed the temporary suspension on shop owner Richard Gaymer’s store in Minster Road, Sheerness, while it carries out an investigation.

Camelot said allegations made against the circa 46,000 outlets it works with were “very rare”, but it “takes matters of propriety very seriously”.

“The success of The National Lottery is built on player trust and Camelot will not allow that trust to be undermined in any way,” a Camelot spokeswoman said.

She added: “If a retailer is found to be in breach of their retailer agreement, which includes obligations to pay out prizes properly, or Camelot believes the breach is likely to undermine the integrity and security of The National Lottery and player confidence in it, our security team will look at all the evidence to determine what sanctions, if any, would be appropriate.

“For example, we might suspend the lottery terminal while we investigate, before deciding whether to remove it permanently. Or we might agree to new working practices with a retailer if a member of their staff was found to be involved in illegal activity, to prevent that member of staff from selling National Lottery products in the future.”

Some six million people a week win draw-based and instant play games, with about 30 millionaires created every month through The National Lottery.

“We can confirm The National Lottery is currently unavailable at the store,” said a Costcutter spokeswoman.

“However, the owner is working closely with Camelot to restore this service as soon as possible.”