Statistics and research release
Funds raised for good causes Q1 2026 to 2027: Official statistics
Income from The National Lottery by quarter and versus last year. Represents Quarter 1 (April to June) 2026 to 2027.
Summary
Also published recently
Funds raised for good causes
Published: August 2026
Reporting Period: Quarter 1, 2026 to 2027 (April to June 2026)
Since its launch in November 1994, the National Lottery has raised over £53 billion for good causes that include sports (including Olympic athletes), arts and heritage, as well as health, education and the environment.
Funds are raised from the sale of National Lottery games and supplemented by items such as unclaimed prizes. The funds for good causes are held in the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF)1.
Key facts
Total funds raised for Good Causes between Quarter 1 2025 to 2026 and Quarter 1 2026 to 20272
From this edition, the chart and accompanying table has been updated to provide additional detail on payments to Good Causes.
The chart shows the source of total payments to Good Causes due for the most recent quarter and the preceding 4 quarters for comparative purposes, distinguishing between Good Causes Contribution and Other payments to Good Causes. The accompanying table provides the reported values for Good Causes Contribution and Other payments to Good Causes and the total payment to Good Causes due for each quarter.
Good Causes Contribution is calculated in accordance with Schedule 5 of the Licence3. Other payments to Good Causes arise from unclaimed prizes, interest earned on Trust Accounts, and other miscellaneous payments.
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 payment to Good Causes due for Quarter 1 (April to June) 2026 to 2027 was £377.2 million. This was £69.5 million (15.6 percent) below Quarter 4 (January to March) 2025 to 2026 and £107.7million (22.2 percent) below Quarter 1 in 2025 to 2026. The last 4 quarters have generated £1.7 billion for Good Causes.
| 2025 to 2026 Quarter 1 |
2025 to 2026 Quarter 2 |
2025 to 2026 Quarter 3 |
2025 to 2026 Quarter 4 |
2026 to 2027 Quarter 1 |
Good Causes Contribution | £479.7 million | £402.9 million | £402.3 million | £403.8 million | £358.4 million | Other payments to Good Causes | £5.3 million | £58.1 million | £8.5 million | £42.9 million | £18.9 million | Total payment to Good Causes due for the quarter | £485.0 million | £460.9 million | £410.8 million | £446.7 million | £377.2 million |
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Details
The total payment to Good Causes for Quarter 1 2026 to 2027 was £69.5 million (15.6 percent) lower than Quarter 4 2025 to 2026, and £107.7 million (22.2 percent) lower than Quarter 1 2025 to 2026.
Total payments to Good Causes include Good Causes Contribution and other payments to Good Causes.
Good Causes Contribution is made up of a fixed contribution from the Licensee and a proportion of the Surplus (being the revenue generated by the Licensee after deduction of the Licensee’s Costs, subject to specified adjustments).
Total National Lottery sales in Quarter 1 2026 to 2027 decreased by £85.6 million (4.5 percent) compared to Quarter 4 2025 to 2026.
When compared to Quarter 1 2025 to 2026, total sales decreased by £261.0 million (12.5 percent). This was driven primarily by lower EuroMillions (£169.9m) and Interactive Instant Win Games (£42.6m) sales compared to the same quarter last year. Historical National Lottery sales figures, together with information on total sales, prizes and expenses, are available in the Industry Statistics publication.
Costs incurred or accrued by the Operator with respect to implementation of the fourth licence started to be recovered by the Operator in accordance with the terms of the fourth licence in Quarter 1 by way of an Implementation Adjustment in the calculation of Good Causes Contribution.
Included in other payments to Good Causes are unclaimed prize payments. These happen throughout the year, from all games, where a prize has not been claimed within 180 days. Quarter 2 and Quarter 4 generally experience larger payments as a result of scratchcard game closures.
You said, we did
Following the last publication of the funds raised for good causes in May 2026, we undertook some stakeholder engagement to ask users for feedback about the publication and how it could be improved in the future.
We have summarised the feedback we received as follows and included details about the action we have taken as a result. From this edition, the chart and accompanying table in the statistics release has been updated to provide additional detail on payments to Good Causes.
Feedback theme 1: Additional financial context
Summary of feedback received
Responses requested more detail about the National Lottery, including information on prizes and operating expenses.
Our response and action taken
We have added a link to the Industry Statistics publication, which provides a breakdown of National Lottery sales distribution, including prizes and operating expenses.
Feedback theme 2: Funds distribution
Summary of feedback received
How funds for Good Causes are distributed.
Our response and action taken
We have provided a link to the National Lottery Distribution Fund website, which explains how funds are distributed and shows the allocation of funding to good causes.
Feedback theme 3: Sales data
Summary of feedback received
Some respondents requested historical National Lottery sales figures to be included within the publication.
Our response and action taken
We have added a link to the Industry Statistics publication, which contains historical National Lottery sales figures and information on sales distribution.
Feedback theme 4: Purpose and wording
Summary of feedback received
Respondents suggested revising the language to better reflect the purpose of publication and reduce risk of it being interpreted as a measure of commercial performance.
Our response and action taken
We reviewed the wording throughout the publication and revised the language to better reflect the purpose of the report. We added a chart showing the breakdown of funds raised to good causes distinguishing between those raised from sales and other items as specified in Schedule 5 of the licence (Good Causes Contribution), and other payments to Good Causes.
Notes
1 Information on how NLDF are distributed to good causes is available on the National Lottery Distribution Fund website (opens in new tab).
2 Amounts relate to total value of proceeds from game sales and other income and adjustments, including unclaimed prizes. Amounts reported above relate to the total payment to good causes due for the Quarter, with the week ending date used to determine the quarter in which they fall. Note, each of the 5 reported quarters cover a 13-week period.
3 Good Causes Contribution is made up of a fixed contribution from the Licensee and a proportion of the Surplus (being the revenue generated by the Licensee after deduction of the Licensee’s Costs, subject to specified adjustments).
Figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1 million. Totals and changes are calculated using unrounded data and may not sum due to rounding.
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Feedback
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