Guernsey scratchcards sales down but above Jersey

Despite a slight dip in the last two years, Guernsey's revenue from scratchcard sales continues to outperform Jersey annually by about £3m.

A recent report from the Channel Islands Lottery revealed both islands experienced a 2.3% drop in scratchcard revenue in 2025, with a total revenue of £12.9m for Guernsey, and £9.6m for Jersey.

The head of lottery for Guernsey, Jon Taylor, said sales were still positive despite the decline, and attributed Guernsey's higher sales to market forces.

A local store said it had not noticed a drop in sales, while a Guernsey-based addiction support service said it saw very few people seeking treatment relating to scratchcard use.

Rhian Whitchurch, co-owner of The Bridge Candy Shop, said: "It's pretty much on par with last year.

"We have quite a few regulars and we see them week in week out, they're normally coming in just to exchange their winning tickets for new ones," she said.

"Obviously we have some people come in everyday, they might come in multiple times a day [but] normally... they'll come once a week."

Jon Taylor said the "modest" decrease of 2.3% was well within normal variation, and attributed the dip to the current economic climate and a strengthened focus on safer gambling from the lottery in recent years.

"Last year's sales remain among the highest seen in the past decade," he said.

Despite having a smaller population, the Bailiwick of Guernsey has continued to generate more scratchcard revenue than Jersey since 2014.

In Guernsey, money raised by the Channel Islands Lottery goes towards the running costs of Beau Sejour Leisure Centre and is distributed to charities and good causes through the Social Investment Fund.

Taylor said there was no single clear factor that explained the difference, as the way the scratchcards were sold across both islands remained largely the same.

"Any variation is more likely to reflect local market dynamics - such as differences in consumer behaviour, retail environments, and levels of engagement," he said.

Taylor said that the Channel Islands Lottery had not seen "huge" evidence of gambling issues in either bailiwicks associated with scratchcard tickets and it was committed to protecting residents.

"We continue to do that, working with our addiction service provider and the distribution agents in both islands to ensure that anybody that does have a problem we can point them in the right direction and help them," he said.

Research commissioned by Public Health found between 2019 and 2020, buying scratch cards was the second highest gambling activity in Guernsey behind the Channel Islands Christmas Lottery, with 46.3% purchasing one, compared to 29.3% in the Isle of Man and 21% across Great Britain.

Despite the high use of scratchcards on the island, executive officer of addiction support service In-dependence Guernsey, Tracey Rear, said it was not something they really saw people seeking treatment for.

She said: "It's predominantly online gambling that is problematic.

"That will make sense – because if we think about fast play – and how the brain responds, well there's a really strong connection [with online] – and if we think about scratchcards – that takes much more time, so it's going to be less habit forming."

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