# Olympics national lottery games likely to hit charities even harder

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2003/12/07/olympics-national-lottery-games-likely-hit-charities-even-harder/
- Published: 2003-12-07T00:00:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

National lottery games to raise funds for the proposed 2012 London Olympics could
result in even more money being diverted from good causes and charities than was
originally feared.
The Olympics-themed lottery games could divert on average “59%
of the estimated £750m income from new Olympic lottery games” from existing good
causes, according to a document from lottery operator Camelot. If this proves correct,
this would mean a loss of £64 million a year to good causes from 2005 to 2012.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport had originally estimated that the new
lottery games would result in a 4% reduction in in proceeds from existing games.

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), among other groups, was
not pleased at this news. It responded by calling on the government to end the 12%
lottery tax on every ticket.

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“The lottery funding of voluntary and community organisations doing vital work throughout
the UK could decline sharply with the diversion of £1.5 billion lottery revenue 
to the Olympics,” said Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive of NCVO. “NCVO is calling
on Government to minimise the damage caused to good causes by this plan by diverting
the 12% tax on every National Lottery ticket worth £549 million per year to the 
good causes and lottery players.”

“The Olympics lottery fund sets a worrying new precedent for future decisions about
the distribution of Lottery funding. We

continue to hold by the principle that Lottery funds should be distributed by an
independently appointed bodies which have the freedom to take final decisions on
both funding priorities and specific projects after consultation.”

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