GOOD fortune smiled on Camelot when its bid for the National Lottery beat all-comers in 1994. But while the first six years have seen the competition raise more than £8bn for good causes, it has not been without a run of bad luck.

Even before it was launched in 1994, church leaders and anti-gambling groups expressed concern at the effect the Lottery would have on the less affluent and young members of society. Their fears were exacerbated when the Lottery developed the gargantuan roll-over and the chance to win £30m - immoral earnings indeed.

Then, within months of the launch, questions were being asked about excess profits, directors' bonuses, bribery and the way money was distributed to good causes.

Lottery regulator of the day Peter Davis was criticised for making "a serious error of judgement in accepting hospitality and free trips in a private jet from one of the companies chosen to run the game.

The corporate aircraft was owned by GTech - an American company which had a 22 per cent stake in Camelot.

MPs also raised concerns over doubts about GTech's fitness to be involved in running the Lottery amid allegations the firm made corrupt payments to obtain contracts in the US.

The chairman of the powerful Commons Public Accounts Committee, Labour MP Robert Sheldon, said Mr Davis' approach compared unfavourably with other public service regulators it had been examining.

Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin group had also been competing for the contract the first time around, later alleged he was offered a bribe to withdraw his rival bid by Guy Snowden, chairman of GTech, which was part of the Camelot consortium.

Sir Richard won the libel action and the decision was upheld in the Court of Appeal.

MPs also criticised the way the regulatory regime allowed Camelot to make a windfall profit of more than £7m a year in unearned interest payments, and Camelot directors came under fire for "fat cat" bonus payments after salary increases of 40 per cent were introduced.

In 1996 Heritage Secretary Chris Smith said the 2001 licence would be awarded to a non-profit making company after Camelot recorded pre-tax profits of £70.8m, with the five companies behind it sharing a dividend of £18.4m.

Camelot also faced a legal bill of more than £600,000 when it lost its bid to kill off a rival numbers game run by Britain's three biggest bookmakers.

A computer glitch occurred between November 1994 and July 1998, leading to some overpayment and some underpayment of prizes, but GTech failed to notify Camelot.

Two top executives at GTech resigned and the firm's board attributed the departures to increasing dissatisfaction with its stock performance and problems with how management handled the software problem which affected the UK Lottery.

Undeterred, Camelot insists it runs the most successful Lottery in the world. It has sold tickets worth more than £28bn and given £8.8bn to good causes.

Despite that, yesterday's decision to replace Camelot could spell the end of the National Lottery as we know it.

From its inception, the Lottery quickly established itself as a national institution.

The magic words "It could be you" is one of the most easily recognisable advertising slogans, and the huge finger is another well-known promotional image.

The television show, with its various formats and ever-changing presenters, could face yet another makeover, as The People's Lottery strives to impose its own identity on the nation's favourite pastime.

Even the game itself is set to be changed, sacrificing the six balls from 49 format in favour of a six from 53 game, which will create eight double and two triple rollovers a year.

Through the new Millionaire's game, players will be able to reduce their odds of winning £1m to one-in-three million, the best odds from a low stake in the UK. Players will be five times more likely to become millionaires than with the existing game, which has odds of around one-in-14 million.

A new range of Instants targeted at specific interests and new interactive games for mobiles, the Internet and digital television, are also planned, which sounds good news for punters. But on the down side, concern grows that hundreds of jobs could be axed in the wake of the Lottery Commission's decision.

Claire Ward, a member of the Culture, Media and Sports Select committee and MP for Watford where Camelot and its software supplier GTech are based, says she feels "disappointment and astonishment" at the decision.

She says: "Why is Camelot considered appropriate to operate the licence now but not in September 2001? I am puzzled that the Commission has recognised new measures that Camelot and GTech have agreed to put in place to rectify previous problems and yet does not appear to be satisfied by this.

"The purpose of establishing the Lottery Commission was to ensure that the process was carried out fairly and without the bias or influence of Government. Yet the Commission is now saying that if it cannot come to a satisfactory conclusion with The People's Lottery in the next month, it will turn to the Government to sort out the problems."

But then life's a bit of a lottery.