Guernsey Scratch card Sales Continue to Lead Jersey Despite Recent Decline

Guernsey’s scratchcard sales have fallen slightly over the past two years, but the island continues to generate millions more in revenue than Jersey, according to the latest figures from the Channel Islands Lottery.

Sales revenue in both islands dropped by 2.3% in 2025, with Guernsey bringing in £12.9m compared with £9.6m in Jersey - maintaining a gap of around £3m between the two islands.

Jon Taylor, head of lottery operations in Guernsey, said the fall was relatively small and remained within normal yearly fluctuations. He said scratchcard sales were still performing strongly, with last year’s figures among the highest recorded in the past decade.

Mr Taylor said the difference between the islands was likely linked to local market conditions, including customer habits, retail patterns and levels of engagement.

“There is no single factor that explains the difference,” he said, adding that scratchcard availability and sales methods were broadly the same across both islands.

Businesses selling scratchcards in Guernsey said they had not seen a noticeable decline in demand.

Rhian Whitchurch, co-owner of The Bridge Candy Shop, said sales had remained steady.

“It’s pretty much on par with last year,” she said.

She added that many customers were regular buyers who returned after winning, often exchanging winning tickets for new scratchcards.

“Some people come in every day, they might come in multiple times a day, but normally they’ll come once a week,” she said.

Despite Guernsey’s relatively high levels of scratchcard participation, addiction support services said they saw few cases linked specifically to scratchcards.

Tracey Rear, executive officer at In-dependent Guernsey, said gambling problems were more commonly associated with online gambling.

“It’s predominantly online gambling that is problematic,” she said.

She explained that online gambling’s fast pace could make it more habit-forming, whereas scratchcards involved a slower process.

Research commissioned by Public Health found that between 2019 and 2020, scratchcards were the second most common gambling activity in Guernsey after the Channel Islands Christmas Lottery. Around 46.3% of respondents reported buying scratchcards, compared with 29.3% in the Isle of Man and 21% across Great Britain.

Mr Taylor said the Channel Islands Lottery continued to focus on safer gambling measures and worked with support organisations to help anyone experiencing gambling-related problems.

Money raised through the lottery in Guernsey contributes towards the running costs of Beau Sejour Leisure Centre and supports charities and community projects through the Social Investment Fund.

While sales have dipped slightly, Guernsey remains ahead of Jersey in scratchcard revenue — a position it has held since 2014 despite having a smaller population.