Statistics and research release
Funds raised for good causes Q1 2018 to 2019
Income from game sales by quarter and versus last year.
Summary
Also published recently
Since its launch in November 1994, the National Lottery has raised over £35 billion for good causes that include sports (including Olympic athletes and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games), arts and heritage, as well as health and education and the environment.
Funds are raised from the sale of National Lottery games and supplemented by unclaimed prizes and interest on balances of funds held. The funds for the original good causes are held in the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF).
The Commission ensures that payments from the Lottery operator to the good causes are accurate and on time.
Key facts
Total funds raised for good causes between Quarter 1 2017 to 2018 and Quarter 1 2018 to 20191
The following chart shows the most recent quarter and the preceding four quarters for comparative purposes. For consistency, each week’s ending date must fall within the reporting quarter, therefore the number of weeks within the quarters may vary.
The total raised for the NLDF in Quarter 1 (April to June) was £362.1m. This was £64.9m (23.3%) below the January to March quarter but £10.4m (3.0%) above Quarter 1 in 2017 to 2018:
| 2017 to 2018 Quarter 1 |
2017 to 2018 Quarter 2 |
2017 to 2018 Quarter 3 |
2017 to 2018 Quarter 4 |
2018 to 2019 Quarter 1 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount raised for good causes | £351.7 million | £424.9 million | £472.0 million | £427.0 million | £362.1 million |
Details
The total for the first quarter was lower than recorded in the final quarter of last year but only slightly below that of the same quarter of 2016 to 2017. The main drivers of the difference compared to the previous quarter were:
- Fewer draw days in the quarter. Quarter 4 of 2016 to 2017 comprised 14 full trading weeks. The financial year 2017 to 2018 began on Saturday 1 April and the period under review (12 weeks ending 24 June, plus one Saturday) includes two fewer Lotto and four fewer EuroMillions draws in comparison.
- EuroMillions sales and returns in the current period were strong, however, boosted by a jackpot roll to just under £135m in early June, whereas the jackpot rolled to only £70m in Quarter 4.
- Quarter 4 included a rebalancing payment of £16m to the NLDF relating to the Lotto advance in 2013 (supporting the launch of the new game).
Notes
1 These amounts relate to the total value of proceeds from game sales raised for the NLDF in calendar quarters. Quarter 1 2017 to 2018 comprises funds raised between 1 April and 24 June 2017. They include all other income and adjustments from game sales, including unclaimed prizes.
This document supersedes a previously published version. During the period concerned (relating to data published in the Q2 2017 to 2018 to Q1 2018 to 2019 updates), the Commission’s approach to analysing quarterly data changed and therefore inconsistent information was presented on our website without explanation. The Commission changed its approach to ensure the periods reported are more comparable to each other. All documents concerned have now been updated to ensure consistent data is presented