Camelot chief admits the Lottery is 'boring'

Dianne Thompson, the chief executive of Camelot, has admitted the National Lottery is "boring", "weary" and "battle-scarred" following its lengthy battle with Richard Branson for the lottery licence.

Camelot is now more than a year behind its business plan and has suffered from being out of touch with the people that play the game, Ms Thompson said, as well as battling against falls in ticket sales.

Speaking at the marketing industry's annual conference, The Marketing Forum, she said the company had lost sight of its customers. "My urgent task is to turn around a company that has lost energy, is battle-scarred and weary. It's creativity and innovation has been suppressed," she said.

Ms Thompson has ordered a marketing overhaul to reverse Camelot's three consecutive falls in yearly ticket sales. She hopes to help the company return to the £5.5bn sales peak it achieved in 1998.