National Lottery (United Kingdom) National Lottery (United Kingdom) The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom. It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery was initially regulated by the National Lottery Commission, which has since been abolished and its responsibilities transferred to the Gambling Commission, and was established by the government of John Major in 1994. All prizes are paid as a lump sum and are tax-free. Of all money spent on National Lottery games, around 53% goes to the prize fund and 25% to "good causes"
The National Lottery Draws on BBC One, although it was occasionally shown on BBC Two if BBC One was unable to show it. BBC were granted the rights in 1994 after defeating a rival bid from ITV. The programme was also broadcast on BBC Radio 1 (or Radio 1 FM as it was then known) and later, it was broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live. Following their defeat, ITV quickly created a rival as they launched their Bingo-based game show "Lucky Numbers", hosted by Shane Richie, which was one of the first UK game shows which allowed viewers to take part at home and