New reports have revealed that about one-fifth of the overall National Lottery contribution to good causes in 2018 was received by London – an amount which is nearly ten times larger than the amount received by Birmingham.
According to recently revealed data, an overall amount of £277.9 million was given as a contribution to good causes by the National Lottery. The UK capital got a massive £56.5-million portion of this amount, unlike other regions, which were granted far less from the money. The East part of England, for example, received funding of only £13.3 million, an overall portion of £13.7 million was granted to the East Midlands, while the South West got £14 million as a contribution to good causes.
The data shows that Birmingham, one of the cities in England which have been most affected by gambling-related harm, received National Lottery grants worth £5.9 million in 2018. This amount was distributed to a number of good causes, with the Shifting the Dial scheme receiving the highest amount of £746,112. The overall amount of Lottery “good causes” grants received by the West Midlands, which has a population of 5.9 million, was estimated to £17.7 million, or £3.02 for every man, woman and child.
In comparison, the per-head contribution in London amounted to £6.40, considering the fact that the city’s population is currently 8.7 million.
London’s borough of Lambeth was the UK area which received the largest funding in comparison to any other area in the country. The amount it received as good causes funding was estimated to £10.6 million in 2018. Glasgow, which has been reported as one of the cities with the highest gambling addiction rates, was second, receiving “good causes” cash amounting to £7.9 million. The third largest funding from the National Lottery was granted to another borough of London – Islington – which got £6.8 million.
Overall National Lottery Contribution Amounts to £37 Billion Since 1994
Since its launch in 1994, the National Lottery has been raising money for good causes in the UK, including education, sports, arts and environmental projects. For the time being, it is operated by Camelot UK and is subject to the supervision of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The major gambling watchdog in the country – the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) – regulates the Lottery and enforces the operating licence’s terms of Camelot UK.
According to a report which the House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts published in April 2018, an overall amount of £37 billion was raised for good causes since the National Lottery started operation two decades and a half ago. The income for good causes declined by 15% in 2016/17, as a 9% decline was registered in the Lottery ticket sales.
The report, however, found that the overall profits increase of Camelot had been “proportionately greater” in comparison to the increases registered in both Lottery sales and contributions to good causes. That was exactly the reason why a number of recommendations were made by the above-mentioned committee, including that the UKGC needs to make sure that the National Lottery provides a fair return of its profits to good causes.
- Author
Daniel Williams
