Good causes in the UK are set to pay the cost of a “needless” legal limit on the amounts that can be raised by so-called charity lotteries, claims have emerged. According to rumours, the limit in question could cost up to £200 million.
Recently, People’s Postcode Lottery, which currently supports over 70 major charity organisations across the nation, believes it would be able to hand out an additional £198 million in case the UK Government reduces the limits on ticket sales that have been established since the 1960s. Players of the People’s Postcode Lottery have raised over £1 billion since 2005 – an amount that has been granted to thousands of charity organisations across the nation. In 2022 alone, over £183 million were awarded to various good causes and community projects.
Now, the aforementioned Lottery and leading charities are urging the authorities to act quickly and dismiss the £50 million limit on ticket sales, saying that such a limit is needless and frustrating. These calls have taken place ahead of an important meeting with Stuart Andrew, the Minister of Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Civil Society, that is set to take place in July.
The country’s gambling regulatory body – the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) – has already admitted that it was unable to reveal any reference as to the reasons why the controversial limits were implemented on the charity lottery sector.
Good Causes Could Miss Out On about £200 Million in Five Years, Campaigners Say
According to estimates, the Royal Voluntary Service and children’s charity Barnardo’s could receive a funding increase of more than £5 million over five years in case the limit was taken down. Furthermore, cancer charity organisations Young Lives vs Cancer and Maggie’s could get an additional gain of £4.9 million, and £4.3 million, respectively. It has also been estimated that another charity – Keep Britain Tidy – would get about £1.7 million more, and Magic Breakfast, which supports British school-based breakfast clubs, would gain up to £1 million.
People’s Postcode Lottery noted there is currently no other type of charity fundraising that faces such limitations. However, critics claim that the Government has acted slowly in response to the Parliament’s support to fully remove the limitations, although the Treasury would obviously benefit from the move.
Some of the Members of Parliament who support the proposed dismissal of the limit include Tracey Crouch, Robert Halfon, Esther McVey, and Stephen Crabb from the Conservative Party, as well as the Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross.
The proponents of the move claim that by fully removing the “needless constraint”, the UK Government can make sure that charity organisations across the country are better equipped to help the multiple issues that communities and people in need face, including problem gambling and gambling-related harm. The removal of the fundraising limits for charity lotteries is a chance for local lawmakers to make a massive difference to numerous organisations, which in turn is set to improve lives and communities across the entire country.
- Author
Daniel Williams
