UK Charities Could Lose Up to £198m Due to Restrictions Placed on Charity Lotteries

British charities are speaking out about government restrictions that have been placed on charity lotteries which could cost them up to £198m over the next five years.

The Effect of Government Lottery Restrictions

The UK Government is so far refusing to lift the restrictions placed on the annual sales of lotteries. It was raised in 2020 from £10 million to £50 million, however, many British charities are arguing that this is still not sufficient and that it will massively impact their fundraising. Many charities are arguing that it could potentially cost them nearly £200 million over the next five years.

The Gambling Commission is unsure why these limits are in place on the charity lottery sector. No other type of charity fundraising has the same red tape imposed on it by the UK Government.

Charities Speak Out Over UK Government Restrictions

One of the largest UK charities speaking out on this is the People’s Postcode Lottery which supports over 70 charities. They are encouraging the government to remove the red tape on ticket sales that was first introduced way back in the 1960s.

Since 2005, the People’s Postcode Lottery has raised over £1 billion and has donated this cash to thousands of charities across the country. In 2022, the charity raised over £183 million which went to a myriad of good causes including homelessness charities and cancer charities.

Some of the big name charities that have been helped by the charity lottery include Barnardos, Crisis, Maggie’s, Young Lives vs Cancer, Keep Britain Tidy and the Royal Voluntary Service. Children’s charities such as Barnardos could receive an additional £5 million if the charity lottery red tape were to be lifted.

A meeting between the charities and the Minister for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Civil Society is set to take place next month, which is why this issue is being raised now. Several parliamentary MPs have backed the charities in their quest to have the red tape removed. This includes Esther McVey, Stephen Crabb, Robert Halfon, Tracey Crouch as well as the leader of the Scottish Conservative Party, Douglas Ross.