Lottery tickets sales in the Channel Islands have fallen by 8.5%

Ticket sales in Guernsey have plummeted by more than 12%, while in Jersey they have gone down by 5%.

The Public Lotteries Report for 2002 shows more than 35% of all lottery sales were for the Christmas draw alone.

After more than 100,000 tickets were sold for the first draw of the year, sales slowly declined to an average of just below half that figure.

The decline is also evident when looking at the amount of money donated to charity by the lottery organisers.

Donations reduced

Donations have fallen by just over a fifth to �176,000 compared to 2001.

Over 15 different charities benefited from the donations, with grants ranging from the provision of a sensory room at Aviemore to stabling and grazing for a horse sanctuary.

Jason Lane, from Jersey Gambling Control, blamed the UK National Lottery for the fall in ticket sales.

But he said scratchcards and a new-style game had been successful in the Channel Islands and would eventually reverse the current trend.