Statistics and research release
Funds raised for good causes Q2 2021 to 2022
Income from game sales by quarter and versus last year.
Summary
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Funds raised for good causes
Published: November 2021
Reporting Period: Quarter 2, 2021 to 2022 (July to September 2021)
Since its launch in November 1994, the National Lottery has raised over £43 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 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 Q2 2020 to 2021 and Q2 2021 to 20221
The 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 good causes in Quarter 2 (July to September) was £418.4M. This was -£2.3M (-0.5%) below Quarter 1 2021 to 2022 and -£34.5M (-7.6%) below Quarter 2 in 2020 to 2021. The last 5 quarters have generated £2.3bn to good causes.
| 2020 to 2021 Quarter 2 |
2020 to 2021 Quarter 3 |
2020 to 2021 Quarter 4 |
2021 to 2022 Quarter 1 |
2021 to 2022 Quarter 2 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount raised for good causes (millions) | £452.9m | £444.8m | £551.3m | £420.7m | £418.4m |
Details
Funds raised for good causes this quarter were consistent with the previous quarter, showing a slight decrease of £2.3m (-0.5%). There was a decrease of £34.5m (-7.6%) when comparing this quarter with Quarter 2 2020 to 2021.
The slight decrease against Quarter 1 2021 to 2022 can be attributed to the following:
- National Lottery sales have fallen by around £35.0m (-1.8%) compared to Quarter 1 2021 to 2022. This was largely driven by a reduction in the sales of ‘Instants’ products (Scratchcards and Interactive Instant Win Games) of £53.8m (-6.0%) between the two periods.
- Total unclaimed prizes added as returns to good causes were comparable with the previous quarter, with a slight increase of £1.3m.
Notes
1 Amounts relate to total value of proceeds from game sales raised for good causes in approximate calendar quarters. Quarter 2 of 2021 to 2022 comprises funds raised between the week ending 3 July to the week ending 25 September. They include all other income and adjustments from game sales, including unclaimed prizes
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