The National Lottery turned over just shy of £7bn last financial year, another record year for the operator Camelot.

The £6.98bn sales tally for the year ending 31 March 2013 was up 6.9 per cent on the previous year – itself a record. The amount distributed to good causes that year was up a commensurate 6.9 per cent to £1.95bn.

The lottery’s performance has far exceeded the original predictions when it launched 18 years ago, when experts believed it would bring in £1bn year. The National Lottery has now raised a total of £30bn for good causes in the UK.

The national game would appear to have also outperformed its own predictions of the detrimental impact of newcomer quasi-national games. Camelot had claimed that the Health Lottery, a collection of connected society lotteries, was eating into its sales.

Just last month a report released by the Lotteries Council showed that society lotteries have had a similarly strong recent history; that market grew 43 per cent in the year to 2011/12. It still is a fraction of the National Lottery’s size, however, with the total value of smaller lotteries coming to £298.9m. Some £126m of that total went to good causes.

The news of the strength of the National Lottery comes as charities and society lotteries, including the Health Lottery, lobby the government to loosen up regulations on their operation. The sector is still waiting for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to open its consultation into society lottery reform.

Camelot credited the growth of the National Lottery to its innovations, and investment in expanding its retail network. Early this year, Camelot also announced it was doubling ticket prices for some games, as well as introducing new prices – a move branded by Health Lottery as an abuse of its market position.

Speaking about the record performance of Camelot last year, managing director of Camelot UK Lotteries Ltd Andy Duncan said: “Looking ahead, we are determined to build on this year’s successes by continuing to give our players what they want – anytime, anywhere. With record online sales last year, we lead the field of digital lottery innovation and this will remain a key focus.”

The National Lottery generates about £35m a week for good causes; this is up from around £28m a week just two years ago.