People’s Postcode Lottery calls on Government to raise society lottery limits
Melanie May | 11 December 2017 | News
The People’s Postcode Lottery is calling on the Government to raise the limits placed on society lotteries under UK Gambling Law.
The call comes ahead of tomorrow’s (Tuesday 12 December) parliamentary debate on society lotteries in Westminster Hall.
Fundraising by each society lottery is capped under the Gambling Act – with a £10 million limit on ticket sales each year and a £4 million limit on the value of tickets in a single draw. People Postcode Lottery, which manages 37 society lotteries for a range of causes, is calling on Culture Secretary Karen Bradley MP to change the law by raising the annual sales limit to £100 million and the draw limit to £10 million.
It states that not only do the current limits cap charity fundraising at a time when charitable need is growing, but that they also result in some funds being diverted to additional administration costs instead of to charity. The organisation is also concerned that the current limits are now also reducing the amount each of the individual society lotteries they manage can raise because as the number of ticket sales grow, the number of draws which can take place before breaching the £10 million limit reduces.
Advertisement
Jo Bucci, People’s Postcode Lottery Managing Director, said:
“ The policy changes we are requesting will raise more for charity at no cost to the taxpayer or the Government. Society lotteries raise funds for thousands of charities and they could raise much more if these changes are brought in.
” Current legislation is now also having the negative effect of reducing the amount of funds each individual charity lottery that People’s Postcode Lottery manage can raise. That surely was never the intention when the legislation was drafted. This will result in each of these lotteries losing hundreds of thousands of pounds over the next two years – impacting directly on the charities those lotteries support.
“The simple changes we suggest will reduce administration costs, allow each society lottery to raise more for good causes and will simplify this charity fundraising model. That is why we are now calling on Ministers to raise the limits on society lotteries to boost charity funding.”
Adrian Burder, Chief Executive of the Dogs Trust, added:
“We greatly value the income we receive from the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery as it helps us care for many more dogs than would otherwise be the case. These funds have contributed towards running our rehoming centres and our education programme in schools, helping to make a huge difference to the lives of thousands of dogs.
“ However we are concerned that the current limits are capping the amount a society lottery can raise for charity and are also going to have the unwelcome effect of reducing the funding we receive unless the Government raises the limits.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.