Camelot at odds with bookies

CAMELOT boss Dianne Thompson, who defeated Sir Richard Branson in the National Lottery bidding war in 2000, has a new enemy - a formidable army of furious bookmakers.

The spat is over attempts by the struggling lottery operator to introduce a new game, Lotto Hotpicks. In this game, punters are asked to predict two, three or four of the Lotto numbers - with the chance to win £40, £450 and £7,000 respectively.

But the bookies say that Hotpicks is nothing more than a side bet and are angry because a clause in the National Lottery Act means that they cannot take bets on the lottery.

Tom Kelly of the Betting Office Licensees Association, which represents bookies, said: 'Whatever words the National Lottery uses, this is side betting. This is the business we are in and we are excluded from it. We would prefer to settle this sensibly and be allowed to have side bets, but we have consulted our lawyers.'

Camelot said: 'We are in the business of raising money for good causes and the bookies are not. They cannot exist like parasites on the back of the National Lottery.'