Statistics and research release
Funds raised for good causes Q1 2019 to 2020
Income from game sales by quarter and versus last year.
Summary
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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 2018 to 2019 and Quarter 1 2019 to 20201
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 £388.2m. This was £54.5m (12.3%) below the January to March quarter (Q4) of 2018-19 and £26.1m (7.2%) above Quarter 1 in 2018 to 2019:
| 2018 to 2019 Quarter 1 |
2018 to 2019 Quarter 2 |
2018 to 2019 Quarter 3 |
2018 to 2019 Quarter 4 |
2019 to 2020 Quarter 1 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount raised for good causes | £362.1 million | £425.8 million | £390.2 million | £442.7 million | £388.2 million |
Details
The total for the first quarter of the 2019 to 2020 financial year was below that recorded in the fourth quarter of the 2018 to 2019 financial year but above the amount recorded for Quarter 1 of 2018 to 2019.
Performance in the first quarter of 2019 to 2020 versus Quarter 4 of the previous year was as a result of the following:
- Lower sales and proceeds from Lotto and EuroMillions, offset in part by stronger sales of instant win games and the inclusion of a full quarter’s sales and returns from the new Set for Life game
- Income from unclaimed prizes in Quarter 1 was £9.8m; considerably lower than Quarter 4’s £37.0m, which included £25.8m of scratchcard unclaimed prizes
- Fewer trading days in the quarter (there were two additional days in Quarter 4)
- Marketing investment drawdown from the NLDF was below Quarter 4.
Performance was better than in Quarter 1 of 2018 to 2019 due to:
- An extra week’s trading is included this year (13 weeks versus 12 in Quarter 1 of 2018 to 2019)
- Stronger comparative sales and contributions from Lotto and EuroMillions, despite the latter featuring a Friday 13th ‘mega raffle’ event in the same quarter last year (none this year)
- Higher sales and proceeds from instant win games
- Marketing investment drawn down from the NLDF was lower than in Quarter 1 last year.
Notes
1 These amounts relate to the total value of proceeds from game sales raised for the NLDF in approximate calendar quarters. Quarter 1 of 2019 to 2020 includes funds raised from sales made between 1 April and 29 June 2019. They include all other income and adjustments from game sales, including unclaimed prizes.