Online charity lottery operator's share price drops

Shares in Chariot (UK), the operator of the new online lottery playmonday.com, dropped by 65% yesterday, according to The Guardian, following disappointing ticket sales.

Although the lottery has raised £520,000 for 20 charities in its first four draws, only 1.68 million tickets have been sold to just over 200,000 players in that period.

Chariot admitted that income from ticket sales had been "significantly less than projected and cannot sustain the company's original business plan".

The company launched on the Alternative Investment Market in February 2006 with shares at 115p. Yesterday its shares closed down 14p at 8p, a drop of 65%.

The company is working to reduce costs and seek further investment.