MSPs claim Scotland should have its own lottery

Pensioners' champion John Swinburne has tabled a motion at Holyrood asking the Scottish Executive to apply to run a separate competition north of the border.

Mr Swinburne, the leader of the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party, said a Scottish lottery should be run as a not-for-profit enterprise with all cash going to good causes for Scottish communities and charities.

The motion came after UK Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell announced a shake-up of the National Lottery in a bid to revive flagging ticket sales.

Overall sales have slumped by 5.4% despite a �72m relaunch fronted by Billy Connolly.

The plans include taking away Camelot's monopoly on the game and giving the public a say in how the cash is spent.

'Scot-Lot'

Mr Swinburne, who represents the Central Scotland region, said: "Scotland should apply to do its own lottery with all the funds from that ploughed back into Scotland.

"At the moment it is controlled down south and very little comes to Scotland.

"They are saying it is up for grabs now and other companies can apply, so why should a country not apply?"

He added: "The executive could do it and then it would be under the control of independent civil servants to allocate the funds where they would do most good."

The idea for a Scottish lottery has become the tenth aim of Mr Swinburne's Motherwell-based party, which scored a surprise victory in the 1 May elections.

The National Lottery has seen a slump in sales

The Scottish National Party has previously proposed an independent 'Scot-Lot', arguing that players stand a better chance of winning in a country of five million people.

Lothians SNP MSP Fiona Hyslop welcomed the idea.

She said: "It would be a great incentive for people to buy tickets and there would be a much greater chance of winning."

However Lothians Tory MSP James Douglas-Hamilton believes Scotland could still get its fair share of lottery cash through the National Lottery.