The National Lottery has been relaunched as Lotto in a bid to revive flagging sales.

The £72 million marketing drive launched on Monday is being seen as an attempt to revamp the weekly draw, which has been hit by a drop in ticket sales.

Camelot chief Dianne Thompson admitted that the draw had "got a bit boring".

She stressed that ministers would have to play their part if the lottery was to raise the target amount for good causes..

But she said the relaunch would bring "energy and excitement back" to the game.

On May 18, the National Lottery will change its name to Lotto, following the continental model, she said..

Thompson said: "The lottery is now eight years old and is starting to look tired. We need to give it a bit of new life and reinvigoration."

But she warned ministers that the government would have to play its part if Camelot was to deliver £15 billion for good causes over its seven-year contract.

She said new legislation was required to allow the firm to launch new games and warned that plans to liberalise gaming laws could increase competition from other forms of gambling.

Thompson also signalled that slower than expected progress on internet TV could also hit the firm's plans to launch new games.

But Thompson insisted that the lottery remained a success story - with six out of 10 adults regularly taking part.