Popular chain Wilko is to stop selling lottery tickets in the New Year.
Signs announcing that Wilko would no longer be selling National Lottery tickets and scratch cards after December 31 appeared in stores across the UK.
The firm said it "would require a significant investment" to continue the service which "isn't a priority", and the decision was a "smart choice" for the business.
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Instead Wilko stated that it would focus on delivering "great value products at great prices". It also added that it was investing in "supporting" staff.
A spokesperson for Wilko said: "Our focus is continuing to invest in becoming the best everyday household and garden retailer we can be. Our customers come to us for great value products at great prices when they need them and right now, we're making smart choices to trade a business.
"Continuing to offer the Lottery in our stores moving forward would require a significant investment that, right now, isn’t a priority and is better spent on improving our customer proposition and supporting team members."
The store said that it had begun its "journey with the National Lottery" to raise money for good causes. But said it had since introduced its "own charities strategy" that raises up to £10,000 a week for charity.
Wilko added: "We’ve designed our own charities strategy including the recent introduction of 'Pennies' and are raising more money than ever, direct for charities supported by the wilko 'Together for Families' programme; Save the Children, Alzheimer’s Society and Teenage Cancer Trust.
"Over the last four years we’ve raised over £2m and now with Pennies we're providing direct support at a time when charities need it more than ever and our customers’ generous donations regularly peak at £10,000 per week."
Wilko has been running since 1930 when it was founded by James Kemsey Wilkinson as a hardware store in Leicester. The founder's family still own the business today.
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