British operator Camelot has announced a new sponsorship deal between The National Lottery and ITV Commercial.
Under the deal, the National Lottery (hosted by Camelot) will sponsor three of ITV's Saturday shows: The Masked Singer, The Voice UK, and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.
The partnership may be aimed at increasing awareness of the Camelot brand by applying for a national lottery license renewal.
Camelot has been running the UK lottery program since its inception in 1994, but is now facing several challenges in maintaining its license from 2023.
Keith Moor, Camelot Marketing Director, said: “The National Lottery has been making Saturday nights more entertaining for 26 years, with each coupon providing a wait while helping raise around £ 30 million a week for National Lottery funded goals.
"These are ITV's flagship entertainment shows with the largest audience - so this collaboration between the two brands makes for a fantastic fit, and that will only help people better understand the relationship between the unique goal and The National Lottery."
Mark Trinder, director of commercial sales and partnerships at ITV, said: "ITV Saturday nights have become the quintessential family entertainment, and as we celebrate the return of three of our most popular shows - The Masked Singer, The Voice UK and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway - welcome to aboard our new sponsor, National Lottery operator Camelot, for this innovative partnership that will bring together all Saturday night TV titans under one sponsorship umbrella. "
Gaming Economics CEO Lee Richardson will write about the British lottery license race in the January-February issue of the magazine Gambling Insider, available for reading here after publication.