Lottery revenue drop hits good cause funding in the UK

According to the UKGC, grants committed to by the Big Lottery Fund fell by nearly £200 million in 2017 due to a National Lottery sales drop.

UK.- The National Lottery’s revenue is partially destined to fund good causes through the Big Lottery Fund (BLF). However, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) revealed that a sales drop in 2017 also affected the value of new grants committed to by the BLF, which fell by almost £200 million last year.

“While we paid out grants to the value of £655m this year, we reduced the value of new grants we committed – recognising the scale of our existing commitments as well as the uncertainty at the start of the year over National Lottery revenue,” Dawn Austwick, chief executive of the BLF, said and added: “I am delighted that the drop in revenue seen in 2016/17 was not repeated this year, providing us with greater stability and certainty for our forward planning.”

According to the UKGC, money transferred to good causes by the National Lottery fell by £293.5 million year-on-year during the 12 months to March 31st 2017. Lottery operator Camelot blamed the fall on a sales drop for the period, which doesn’t worry Mr Austwick, as he expects the lottery’s income to stabilise soon.

“The budget we have set for next year reflects a more stable forecast for returns to good causes. We have the important job of funding people’s great ideas on how to make a difference in their communities and will continue to work with Camelot and the other distributors to see these returns grow in the future,” a spokeswoman for the Big Lottery Fund said and added: “The National Lottery has delivered more than £38 billion to good causes. It is in everyone’s interest that it has a vibrant and successful future.”