The rising popularity of scratchcards means the National Lottery is giving away a lower proportion of its total sales income​ to charity​ than ever before​ while the profits for the company that runs it have soared, MPs have warned.​

The Public Accounts Select Committee said that Camelot's profits have risen by 122 per cent since 2009, “well in excess” of what was expected when it was given the licence to run the lottery.

But in the past year, returns for good causes fell by 15 per cent to £1.63billion, a record low in proportion to total sales. Camelot has forecast a further fall in income for good causes this year.

The MPs warned the fall in funding for charities could be "disastrous" and mean that some projects will become "unaffordable".

The fall in charitable giving is because scratch cards give as little as 5p per £1 to charity, compared to 34p per £1 from the traditional lottery draw.

Sales of scratchcard and other instant-win products rose has risen by 118 per cent since 2009, while sales from traditional lottery draws have fallen £100million over the same period.

Meanwhile, Camelot’s profits have risen from £39million to £71million.

Meg Hillier, who chairs the Public Accounts Committee, said: “With the current set-up, Camelot is incentivised to provide more scratchcards to boost its profits.