NHS Loto chairman quits after bust-up
Roger Cummings, who has fought a ten-year battle to launch the NHS Loto charity draw nationally, has left the company which operates the draw.
His departure from Pascal & Co, where he was chairman, along with marketing director Craig Flint, comes after a row over the future of the lottery draw, which runs on Thursday nights on Channel 4 in London.
The draw has run for two years, but has failed to produce many jackpot winners and has few viewers.
Proceeds from the draw go to the National Hospitals Trust (NHT), which buys medical equipment for National Health Service hospitals.
Two weeks ago, Pascal told NHT the show should be transferred to cable TV, but NHT said this would further reduce the number of viewers. Pascal then said it would not pay for the show to be aired on C4, and NHT is now paying for it.
Pascal is still processing the paperwork for the draw, and is expected to reimburse money for the show’s funding to the charity.
Pascal has been seeking 50m funding to roll out the show nationwide and launch an online game to rival the National Lottery, but has failed to strike a deal. A company called Stenworld, run by Malaysian businessmen, and responsible for funding Pascal for the past two years, has pulled out leaving the operator with an uncertain future.
