Statistics and research release
Funds raised for good causes Q3 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 3 2017 to 2018 and Quarter 3 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 3 (October to December) was £390.2m. This was £35.6m (8.4%) below the July to September quarter and £81.8m (17.3%) below Quarter 3 in 2017 to 2018:
| 2017 to 2018 Quarter 3 |
2017 to 2018 Quarter 4 |
2018 to 2019 Quarter 1 |
2018 to 2019 Quarter 2 |
2018 to 2019 Quarter 3 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount raised for good causes | £472.0 million | £427.0 million | £362.1 million | £425.8 million | £390.2 million |
Details
The total for the third quarter of the current financial year was below that recorded in the second quarter and well below the amount recorded for Quarter 3 of 2017-18.
Performance versus the second quarter of 2018 to 2019 was primarily due to fewer weeks in the latest trading period (13 against 14 whole weeks in Quarter 2). Also of note is that £7.5m was drawn down from the NLDF to support Lotto and EuroMillions under a new marketing investment proposal, a greater sum than previously drawn down for investment in these games. This covered investment made in both the latest and previous quarters.
Performance in Quarter 3 of 2017 to 2018 (versus the latest quarter) was stronger due to:
- Significantly higher numbers of rollovers in both Lotto (where the jackpot rolled to its maximum permitted level on two occasions) and EuroMillions (where in October 2017 a guaranteed jackpot rolled on to its maximum level of over £170m).
- The receipt of a final rebalancing payment of £12.2m from Camelot in respect of the Lotto game relaunch in 2013.
Notes
1 These amounts relate to the total value of proceeds from game sales raised for the NLDF in approximate calendar quarters. Quarter 3 of 2018 to 2019 comprises funds raised between 30 September and 29 December 2018. They include all other income and adjustments from game sales, including unclaimed prizes.