Statistics and research release
Funds raised for good causes Q4 2021 to 2022
Income from game sales by quarter and versus last year. Represents Q4 2021 to 2022.
Summary
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Funds raised for good causes
Published: May 2022
Reporting Period: Quarter 4, 2021 to 2022 (January to March)
Since its launch in November 1994, the National Lottery has raised over £45 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. The funds for 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 Q4 2020 to 2021 and Q4 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 4 (January to March) was £491.3 million. This was £17.2 million (-3.4 percent) below Quarter 3 2021 to 2022 and £60.0 million (-10.9 percent) below Quarter 4 in 2020 to 2021. The last 5 quarters have generated £2.4 billion to good causes.
| 2020 to 2021 Quarter 4 | 2021 to 2022 Quarter 1 | 2021 to 2022 Quarter 2 | 2021 to 2022 Quarter 3 | 2021 to 2022 Quarter 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount raised for good causes (millions) | £551.3m | £420.7m | £418.4m | £508.5m | £491.3m |
Details
Funds raised for good causes this quarter were £17.2 million (-3.4 percent) below the previous quarter, and £60.0 million (-10.9 percent) below Quarter 4 2020 to 2021.
The decrease against Quarter 3 2021 to 2022 can be attributed to the following:
- total National Lottery sales decreased by £17.2 million (-0.8 percent) compared to Quarter 3 2021 to 2022. When looking at game level sales, there was an increase across all games except for EuroMillions, which decreased by £122.8 million (-22.4 percent). This was largely due to comparatively fewer rollovers occurring in the most recent period
- total unclaimed prizes added as returns to good causes were around £10 million less than the previous quarter, primarily due to there being a particularly high volume of scratchcard game closures in Quarter 3 2021 to 2022.
Notes
1 Amounts relate to total value of proceeds from game sales raised for good causes in approximate calendar quarters. Quarter 4 of 2021 to 2022 comprises funds raised between the week ending 1 January to the week ending 31 March. They include all other income and adjustments from game sales, including unclaimed prizes
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