Regulator blocks Camelot move

Camelot's ambitious move to expand its operations to allow people to top up their mobile phones and pay bills at its lottery terminals has been blocked by the regulator.

The National Lottery Commission said yesterday that it had refused consent to Camelot's application to undertake "ancillary activities" because it threatened to breach European competition law.

Mark Harris, the chief executive of the NationalLottery Commission, said: "We have considered whether the risks involved can reasonably be mitigated but have concluded, based on the advice we have received, that they cannot."

Camelot said it was examining its options after yesterday's decision but was still confident it would offer the services in the future.