Earlier this week, the Rother District Council revealed its decision to back plans for the establishment of a local lottery scheme.
If created, the lottery would is set to be operated by an outside party. It is also expected to bring fresh money to the community grants scheme of the District Council on one hand, and directly to local community groups, on the other hand.
At the time when the plans were officially introduced, Kevin Dixon, the cabinet member for finance, explained that currently, reserves are used to fund community grants, with the amount that this costs the district on an annual basis being estimated at about £130,000. Mr Dixon further noted that the authorities could not continue using reserves like this much longer because this would mean that the money will run out at some point.
Rother District Council, however, is looking for a new source of funding that would bring money to local communities regularly. Mr Dixon also said that the District authorities are aware that the establishment of a local lottery scheme would not be able to bring all the necessary funds but it would be a start.
The council revealed that it took two options for creating a local lottery into consideration, either employing a third party to operate it or running it in-house.
Some Council Members Raise Concerns of Possible Problem Gambling Rates’ Growth
According to Rother District Council members, the establishment of an in-house lottery would cost the authorities between £80,000 and £100,000, as the process would involve the establishment of a few new posts and several new systems would have to be set up. Furthermore, officers believe that running an in-house lottery scheme would pose a serious financial risk to the council, especially if the lottery turns out unsuccessful.
That was exactly the reason why the Council has been considering the recommendation of hiring a licenced External Lottery Manager (ELM), as in this case, it would be the provider who would bear the financial risks associated with the project. If Rother District Council chooses this option, all aspects of running the lottery, such as licensing, ticket sales and prize management, revenue collection, etc., would be delivered by the ELM.
This suggestion, however, also faced some concerns, as Conservative councillor John Barnes shared some community members would probably be concerned about the other risks associated with the project, such as the possible encouragement of gambling participation and the possible growth of problem gambling rates. Furthermore, he said that in his opinion running a lottery in-house would be more cost-effective and would actually maximise the profits to the District’s own services.
There already have been some concerns associated with the establishment of the proposed lottery scheme in the district. Some opponents of the idea said that it is not the Council’s job to try raising some money through gambling, which could encourage problem gambling behaviour among more vulnerable community members. Proponents of the scheme, however, argued that the lottery would help the District find sustainable funding for the community grants scheme of the Council, and there would be safeguards in place to prevent vulnerable community members from facing gambling-related harm.
The lottery scheme establishment proposals are set to be put to a full council vote soon, but no timetable has officially been revealed yet.
- Author
Daniel Williams
