Wokingham Borough council’s executive committee is set to approve the formation of a community lottery that aims to benefit local good causes.
Notes for the meeting on Thursday said: “A Community Lottery provides a new fundraising stream, generating additional income for community good causes in the borough.
“Good causes are defined as a constituted charity or other non-commercial organisation, but can then be further specified to ensure those organisations align to the Council’s values and priorities.”
Funds raised by a community lottery scheme in Wokingham Borough would be split between local charities, interest clubs and voluntary organisations, as well as the winning ticket holders.
Similar community lotteries are operated by Bracknell Forest, Surrey Heath and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.
The costs of operating the lottery will be covered by revenue generated from a percentage of ticket sales designated as the Central Fund.
An external lottery management provider, Gatherwell Ltd, who operates lotteries for more than 100 local authorities, has been identified.
“The lottery aligns with Wokingham Borough Council’s mission to build and maintain a great community, enhancing our ability to support the voluntary and community sector.
“It supports the strategic goal of financial resilience and reinforces our commitment to sustainable community development.”
Tickets will cost £1 each, and can only be purchased online or by phone via direct debit or payment card.
The proceeds of each £1 ticket sale are distributed as follows:
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£0.50 to the cause.
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£0.10 to Wokingham Council central fund.
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£0.18.2 for prizes.
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£0.18.2 to Gatherwell.
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£0.036 VAT.
Individual lottery players have two options for how the 60% of their ticket purchase is distributed. Either the entire 60% can go to a central fund to be distributed by the council, or 50% can go to a specified cause chosen by the player, with the remaining 10% allocated to the central fund
For comparison, the percentage of each ticket sale that goes to good causes in other lotteries includes 28% for the National Lottery, 33% for the Postcode Lottery, and 20% for the Health Lottery.
Local good causes can range from school groups and PTAs, environmental groups, animal sanctuaries, interest clubs, day centres and support groups for residents in need.
The details of the types of organisations that will be eligible will be further defined by the Council to ensure its alignment with its values and priorities.
The council will then work actively with local organisations that fit the values and priorities, to bring them into the scheme and allow residents purchasing tickets to direct funds to them as they prefer.
The good causes will also contribute to the marketing of the scheme in order to bring monies into their organisation.
Additional notes for the meeting said: “It is possible that further investment into local good causes could reduce the demand (or reduce further growth in demand) for council services.
“This is not a direct intention of the approach but any impacts to council services will be monitored where possible.”
Players will be able to select a line of six numbers (0-9), and prizes will be awarded based on the number of matched numbers.
Six matched numbers will win a prize of £25,000, five matched numbers will win £1,000, four matched numbers will collect £250, three matched numbers will win £25, while two matched numbers will win three free tickets.
The community lottery will not cost Wokingham Borough Council anything to operate, and it will have no financial exposure to prizes.
Community lotteries are considered to be “incentivised giving” by the Gambling Commission, and have the lowest risk of addiction.
Mitigation factors will include the need for all customers to require validation and set up before a gambling transaction may be processed, a limit of 20 ticket sales per person for each draw, and no cash transactions.
If a person known or suspected to be a problem gambler, the customer will be tactfully referred to GambleAware and the customer’s details logged for the purpose of possible exclusion from future participation.
The first draw, which is dependent on how quickly the Gambling Commission licence is processed, is expected in April 2025.
Executive member for finance and governance, Cllr Imogen Shepherd-DuBey, said: “By launching a community lottery scheme it will enhance our ability to support the voluntary and community sector which will bring huge benefits to our residents.
“Every ticket bought would make a real difference to local projects and initiatives.
“It would help put money towards good causes and community funds – both proceeds and winnings will go directly to local causes and to our residents.
“The main difference with this type of lottery is that customers would be able to select a good cause to support when they buy their lottery tickets, or know any money raised is going to be distributed within the borough rather than going elsewhere.”
