Frequently Asked Questions
How does a lottery work?
The lottery is a weekly game of chance. Each number entered into the draw has an equal chance of winning a prize. The prize structure remains the same each week.The lottery is a membership lottery. Members are given their own unique game number. They can have as many numbers as they wish to increase their chances of winning.Payments are always in advance of the draw. Should a number not be in credit then it will not be entered for that weeks draw.Members are recruited in a number of different ways, such as door to door, canvassing, telesales, mail shots etc.
Members can pay for entry into the Lottery via a number of different ways including cash, cheque, standing order, direct debit, debit/credit card & payroll.When a person becomes a member of the lottery they are automatically sent a new members welcome letter. This contains their name & address details, their unique game number & a short introduction to the lottery.Winners are notified automatically & receive their winning cheques soon after the draw.
There is no need for members to claim prizes as they are sent out automatically. Winning numbers are usually published in the local press, in charity shops & on the charity’s website
Who do I need to register my lottery with?
It is the income generated by your lottery that determines who you need to be registered with. You will need to register with the Gambling Commission if the value for any one draw is likely to be over £20,000 or £250,000 for the combined draws in any one calendar year.
If your predicted levels of income are likely to be lower than those stated above you will need to register with your local authority for a society lottery license. Your organisation may already be registered as this is the same license that covers your for running a raffle.
How much profit do your clients make through running a lottery?
Obviously this depends on the number of members and the prize level. An average lottery with 10,000 players can expect to make approx. £5,300 profit per week, which equates to £275,600 per year using our Lottery Admin Service.
How would we promote a lottery?
We provide you with a comprehensive marketing guide to assist you in you in planning a successful lottery campaign. We have worked with numerous charities and societies over the past 25 years and have assisted them in setting up successful fundraising lotteries. A member of our client support team is available to offer advice throughout your lottery life cycle.
We have decided that we would like to run a lottery - but we don't know which of your products or service to chose from?
This is a common question, all of our products and services are designed to successfully administer a lottery. Please find a brief summary of which types of fundraising organisations are best suited to each of our services.
Lottery Admin Service - Suitable if you would like to run a lottery and have your own guaranteed jackpot each week. You would need to have an idea of your predicted membership levels and set a prize fund which allows you to make a profit whilst providing an incentive for people to join.
Unity Lottery - Suitable if you would like to run a fundraising lottery but are unsure of how many members you would be able to recruit. Unity is a joint lottery scheme whereby you join with other fundraising organisation to share admin and prize provision costs. This is also a good option if you do not have a lot of time to devote to developing a lottery campaign as you can slowly build up your membership levels. You can always change over to running your own lottery through our Lottery Admin Service if your membership levels are high enough.
Payroll Lottery Admin Service - This enables a company to administer a lottery and donate money to their nominated charity. It is also suitable for a charity who have large corporate supporters to enable the employees of the corporate to play the lottery to support the charity.
Pathway Lottery Database - This is suitable for orgnaisations who have staff available to concentrate on both the administration involved with running a lottery and the marketing of the lottery. Usually one full-time member of staff would need to be responsible for the lottery admin. If you choose this option you need to make sure that you have a sufficient level of support as you will need to cover staffing costs as well as our fees and provide an attractive prize fund.