Residents in some of North and East Yorkshire's remotest areas could lose the chance to play the National Lottery under plans by the two companies bidding for the franchise.

Camelot, currently running the lottery, will remove the 1,000 least profitable lottery machines and give them to other retailers, while Richard Branson's People's Lottery, which is bidding to take over the franchise, is planning to give the least profitable machines less than a year to prove their worth.

The move has angered rural operators, who claim they will be hardest hit, while Ryedale MP John Greenway has called for a rethink.

The Government's Lottery Commission is set to decide who will be given the franchise next month.

Postmaster Kate Swift, of Linton-on-Ouse Post Office, said some of her customers would struggle to get to a Lottery outlet if her machine was taken away.

"The nearest machines are miles away in Easingwold or Clifton Moor," she said.

"If we do lose it custom will suffer."

Another Post Office operator near York, who asked not to be named, said the decision could spell the end of many rural shops.

"The custom which comes in as a result of the lottery machine will be lost and it might be the case that village shops close as a result.

"There is no way of telling whether or not your machine is one of the least profitable because there is nothing to compare it with," he said.

John Greenway said he was disappointed the lottery companies were considering such a policy. "Everyone should be given the chance to play and if this policy does lead to rural areas losing their machines this will be very unfair.

"Just because a machine is not as profitable as others should not mean they should close them."

A Camelot spokeswoman said that of the 35,000 machines operating in the UK, the least profitable 1,000 would be taken away from their operators and given to other retailers.

"This does not necessarily mean rural machines are going to be targeted. The policy applies to all machines whether they are in the countryside or urban areas."

A People's Lottery representative said it was still formulating its policy, although the least profitable machines would be the subject of a re-think.