Lottery boss: It won't be you ...

The boss of the National Lottery today admitted players had next to no chance of winning the jackpot.

Dianne Thompson, chief executive of Camelot, which runs the Lottery, said players of the recently renamed Lotto game "would be lucky to win a tenner".

Ms Thompson conceded that with odds of one in 14 million of hitting the jackpot, the public had little chance of winning. She also hinted ticket prices may have to rise if Britain joins the euro. Her comments came within a month of the Lottery's £72million revamp, which featured a series of adverts starring comedian Billy Connolly.

Camelot changed the name in an attempt to boost flagging ticket sales amid decreasing public interest - a move that ironically could be undermined by Ms Thompson herself.

In an interview today she admitted people had realised the game's original slogan - It Could Be You - had given false hopes to players. She said: "Eight years later people have realised that though it could be you, it probably won't be.

"You would be lucky to win a tenner." Ms Thompson said the only way to halt declining Lottery sales was to make the game fun: "We have to put the fun back in so if people don't win they enjoy playing."

She also said that if the UK joined the single currency the cost of a Lottery ticket could rise - and she revealed that the current price is very convenient.

"The dilemma is, if I put it up to £1.10 most sellers would have to give 90p change on £2. The only way to make it work would be to make it £2 or £1.50."

Billy Connolly is appearing in 10 TV adverts with the new slogan "Don't live a little, live a Lotto". Other changes to boost public interest include plans to pilot units dispensing Instants in retail stores.

Camelot recently conceded that in the first quarter of the financial year starting April 2001, sales were disappointing. Last year, its profits crashed by more than a quarter.

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