Lottery Company Seeks New Funding

The company behind a new lottery game set up as a rival to the National Lottery is seeking new financial backing after disappointing sales.

Chariot admitted that sales from its online game, launched last month, had not met expectations and that it would have to revise its business plan.

Shares in Chariot - which floated this year stock - fell 65% on the news.

The "Monday" game was designed to raise £150m for charity a year but has so far raised just £520,000.

Benefiting charities have been called to a crisis meeting on Friday although the company insisted the weekly game would continue unchanged.

The game was set up with the aim of giving a greater share of revenues to charities than the National Lottery.

According to Chariot, 30p out of every £1 spent on a ticket for the game has gone to charity - five times more than in the National Lottery.

Players can choose which charities their money is given to from a list of 70 benefiting organisations.

In a statement, Chariot said sales had failed to hit projected levels in the first four weeks of the game.

It has sold nearly 1.7 million tickets during that time, raising £520,000 for charities.

Chariot said it would have to reduce its overheads immediately and was seeking ways of raising additional income.

It is looking to raise money by selling additional shares to new as well as existing investors.

"The income generated has been significantly less than projected and cannot sustain the company's original business plan," the company said in a statement.

Before its first draw on May 8, Chariot said players were 27 times more likely to win the jackpot on its game than on the National Lottery.

By mid-afternoon, Chariot's shares were down 14 pence at 7.5p.