# People’s Postcode Lottery calls on Government to raise society lottery limits

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/12/11/peoples-postcode-lottery-calls-government-raise-society-lottery-limits/
- Published: 2017-12-11T07:35:21+00:00
- Author: Melanie May

**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.

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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](https://www.postcodelottery.co.uk/),
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. 

 

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.” 

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 * **[Grants of up to £20,000 available to local charities & good causes](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/01/30/grants-20000-available-local-charities-good-causes/)**(
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