UK Government considering doubling annual charity lottery sales limit to £100m

The UK government is being urged to continue the reforms with regards to charity lottery by doubling the sales limit up to £100m per year.
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The UK government is being urged to continue the reforms with regards to charity lottery by doubling the sales limit up to £100m per year.

Last year, the annual sales limit placed on societal-based lotteries was increased from £10m up to £50m and, whilst the reforms were welcome, some people want further progress to be made. 

As reported by Third Sector, Ian Murray the Labour MP for Edinburgh South, questioned whether the government had any plans to consider doubling the annual sales limit up to £100m. 

Responding to Murray, Charities Minister Nigel Huddleston confirmed that the government is looking into ways of continuing the reforms. 

He said: “The government increased the annual sales limit for society lotteries from £10m to £50m in July 2020, as part of a package of reforms designed to enable both the National Lottery and society lotteries to thrive, and consequently to grow overall returns to good causes.

“We have committed to reviewing these reforms, and that is now underway.

“We want to understand the impact of these changes before we consider looking again at the case for a £100m lottery licence and any additional conditions that may accompany that.”

In response, Tony Vick, Chair of the Lotteries Council, said that, while the rise to £50m has helped, it is not enough and has urged the government to raise the limit to £100m.

“A little over a year following their introduction, these changes have proven hugely positive, freeing up more funding for supported charities, while lowering costs and cutting bureaucracy for operators – just as the government intended,” he said. 

“We urge ministers to continue progress on charity lottery reform, particularly given that a £100m annual sales limit remains favoured by the sector and was the government’s own ‘preferred option’ following extensive consultation on the matter.”