National Lottery funds for good causes down 12%
The Commission said that the reduction was due to a decrease in the sales of National Lottery tickets between January and February, which the regulator said was 12.0% below the amount announced in the same period in 2022.
The sale was primarily driven by a fall in the sale of instant products, with revenue from scratchcards and interactive instant win games down by £120.5m, or 12.7% compared to the three-month period the previous year.
Lottery sales also fell 14.0% over the period, which the Commission said was “partly attributable” to a lower number of rollovers associated with high jackpots over the three-month term.
Between January and March, the lottery raised a total of £432.5m, 0.4% below the £434.1m raised by the lottery in the previous quarter.
Overall, the lottery has raised £2.3bn for good causes across the previous five quarters.
Responsibilities of the Gambling Commission
Since the launch of the National Lottery in November 1994, the lottery has raised over £47bn for charity. These causes have included sports, arts and heritage, as well as health, education and the environment.
Money for charity is raised from the sale of National Lottery tickets, as well as being supplemented by some items such as unclaimed prizes.
One of the responsibilities of the Gambling Commission is to ensure that payments from the lottery operator – which are held in the National Lottery Distribution Fund – are “accurate and on time”.
In September 2022, the regulator formally awarded the UK’s fourth National Lottery licence to Czech lottery conglomerate Allwyn Entertainment, ending the 28-year tenure of Camelot Group – the previous operator.