January 10, 2018 10.38 am This story is over 74 months old

New Lincoln lottery to help fund local projects

Weekly prizes will range from £25 to £25,000.
| Photo: Petr Kratochvil

A new community lottery in aid of local projects and charities is to be set up in Lincoln.

The online-only lottery, created by City of Lincoln Council and approved by the Executive committee on Monday, January 8, will have weekly prizes ranging from £25 to £25,000.

How would it work?

Players will be able to choose six numbers from 0-9, costing £1 per ticket.

To win the jackpot the ticket must match both the numbers and sequence as drawn.

Players can also win a prize if the ticket matches the sequence of the first or last 2, 3, 4 or 5 numbers drawn.

Multiple tickets are able to be purchased, and numbers can be changed by players online.

Customers can choose one good cause per ticket and swap them as often as they wish from a central list online.

If they do not wish to choose a specific good cause, then that 50% of the takings will go into the central pot for wider distribution.

An External Lottery Manager (ELM) will run the operation and administration of the lottery, which will also include a bespoke lottery website, individual webpages for each approved cause and tailored marketing material.

The purpose of the new Lincoln lottery is to help fund discretionary support for local voluntary and community groups.

All funds raised will benefit local people and communities and it is estimated that the lottery could raise between £15,000 and £20,000 in its first year, rising to as much as £100,000 in its fifth year.

Ric Metcalfe, Leader of City of Lincoln Council, said that although there is an element of risk due to people of low incomes spending money they can’t afford, this is a good opportunity for the city.

“The community grant funding lottery is an exciting project for City of Lincoln Council and will generate much needed support for voluntary organisations in the community.

“There are already 35 similar schemes across the country, with this being the first in Lincoln.

“The lottery will attract supporters who are looking to give to a good cause with an incentive of winning a reward.

“We hope to raise between £15,000 and £20,000 in the first year for community groups and organisations, with the possibility of significantly more as the lottery grows.”

At the time of writing it is not yet known when the Lincoln lottery will be officially launched, however planning has now began following approval from the Executive committee.