UK National Lottery operator Camelot posted near-record sales in the first half of its fiscal year despite retail disruptions caused by COVID-19.

Figures released Tuesday show Camelot UK Lotteries Ltd generated sales of £3.85b in the six months ending September 26, a 1.7% decline from the previous year’s fiscal H1, although that period represented the company’s all-time high-water mark in H1 revenue terms. Contributions to good causes fell 1.5% to £863.7m.

The H1 stats were saved from a much greater decline by Camelot’s “urgent interventions” as the UK government’s pandemic response forced many lottery retailers to shut their doors. Camelot campaigned hard to remind players that digital options abounded while adding additional technical support to onboard newbies, resulting in 1.3m new online registrations.

That customer surge led to record digital sales of £1.62b, an increase of £455m from the same period last year, with mobile’s share of that sum gaining £380m to a record £1.13b. Camelot lowered the minimum deposit threshold to encourage digital virgins, while simultaneously pushing a ‘Dream Big, Play Small’ message that the company said resulted in digital average weekly spend “remaining consistent” over H1.