West Lindsey Lottery – a community lottery supported by local residents to benefit local groups, is celebrating its one-year birthday this October.
Originally intended to be launched in the summer 2020, the scheme was delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic – resulting in the first draw taking place on Saturday 17th October 2020 instead.
The initiative works with 50% of the cost of a ticket going towards the individual player’s selected good cause, with a further 10% contributing to West Lindsey District Council’s Community Grant Schemes.
Currently there are over 400 players supporting 52 causes in West Lindsey, while over £40,000 has been paid out to individual causes since the launch of the lottery, and a further £24,000 has resulted towards the Council’s grant schemes.
Good causes range from sports clubs to churches, food banks to village halls, and scout groups to food banks.
One of the most successful good causes, Southrey Village Hall, has sold over 2,600 tickets raising £1,300 in a year.
Manager of the Village Hall, Jayne Hayes, said: “We were sent an invitation to the launch event and thought it sounded a good idea so signed up immediately. The way it was presented we couldn’t lose as we were in with a chance of winning as well as raising money for the community.
“We spoke to people about it at village hall events and shared on Facebook, it took a bit to get going but once people started winning then more signed up. I post on Facebook every week and tell people how their involvement is helping the community. When Covid hit we had no money coming in to the hall as it is entirely self-funded so the money from the lottery each month was a big help with maintenance costs and bills. It has really helped keep the Hall going.
“Hopefully as the Covid restrictions are eased and the Hall re-opens, people will still play the lottery, we just need a big win to get more signed up!”
Community Engagement Officer, Matt Snee, added: “As a Local Authority we depend heavily on our Community and Voluntary Sector to deliver activities to benefit our residents. West Lindsey Lottery offers a free to use fundraising tool for these groups, ensuring their time isn’t too stretched.
“Many of these groups run their own raffles, 100 clubs or lotteries. The West Lindsey Lottery is purely online and isn’t anywhere near as admin intensive.
Alongside the Gambling Commission License we possess, West Lindsey District Council are also a member of the Lotteries Council to ensure our practices are credible and compliant with regulations.”
As part of their birthday celebration, West Lindsey Lottery are celebrating their first birthday by offering a £250 prize to a randomly selected good cause. To win, the Good Cause must meet the criteria of:
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Being approved as a good cause between 17 October 2021 and 14 January 2022
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Providing a bank statement and constitution in the name of the organisation.
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Be an active good cause consistently selling 20 tickets by 14 January 2022
To sign up as a good cause or to play the lottery, please visit West Lindsey Lottery.
Always play West Lindsey Lottery responsibly, if you need to talk to someone about your gambling please contact Gamble Aware or GamCare.