Half-yearly financial results from Camelot, the National Lottery operator, revealed that returns to good causes have stopped falling.

Figures for the period from April 1 to September 27 put returns to good causes at £867.7 million ($1.3 billion/€1.1 billion) - an increase of 0.4 per cent from a year ago.

The rate of increase remained markedly slower than the 4.8 per cent rise to £3.47 billion ($5.5 billion/€4.4 billion) in lottery ticket sales, however.

Camelot attributed this discrepancy to the sales mix, with instant play games - which return less to good causes than draw-based games - achieving an 18 per cent sales advance.

Sales of draw-based games, by contrast, fell by 1.4 per cent.

The National Lottery provided the financial assistance that helped Britain enjoy unprecedented success at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, a fact celebrated in this celebration advert produced by Camelot after the Games ©Camelot

Camelot said it was confident that changes to its EuroMillions game, to be introduced later this month, would "drive" sales of the game, and hence returns to good causes, over the second six months.

UK Sport disclosed in July that it suffered a 14 per cent decline - from £88.3 million ($141.1 million/€112.4 million) to £75.7 million ($120.9 million/€96.4 million) in its share of Lottery proceeds over the year to end-March 2014.

Over the same period, Sport England's Lottery income fell from £236.4 million ($377.7 million/€300.9 million) to £209.5 million ($335.3 million/€266.6 million).

These figures compared with a 3.5 per cent fall in lottery ticket sales and a 10.25 per cent cut in contributions to good causes.

The discrepancy was explained, once again, by Camelot's sales mix.