The UK National Lottery raised 22 per cent less money for good causes

The UK National Lottery contributed £377.2 million to good causes in the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year. This is £107.7 million, or 22.2 per cent, less than in the previous year. The figures were published by the Gambling Commission.

The report covers 13 weeks from April to June. Contributions also fell compared with the previous quarter, down by £69.5 million, or 15.6 per cent. The bulk of the sum, £358.4 million, came from lottery operations themselves. A further £18.9 million came from unclaimed prizes, interest and other income.

A year earlier, the core contribution alone stood at £479.7 million. Over the last four quarters, the lottery has allocated a total of £1.7 billion to the projects it supports.

EuroMillions accounted for the bulk of the shortfall

The main reason for the fall in contributions lies in sales. Total National Lottery sales fell by £261 million, or 12.5 per cent year-on-year. Of this amount, EuroMillions accounted for a loss of £169.9 million, while interactive instant games accounted for a further £42.6 million. Compared with the previous quarter, sales fell by £85.6 million, or 4.5 per cent.

The economic climate only partly explains the decline. According to national statistics, UK household spending, adjusted for inflation, rose by 0.6 per cent compared with the previous quarter and by 0.9 per cent year-on-year. People have not stopped spending; they have simply been buying fewer lottery tickets.

A line item has appeared in the calculations that is rarely mentioned

A technical factor also influenced the quarterly results. The operator Allwyn has begun to recoup the costs of implementing its fourth lottery licence. This recoupment is being achieved through an adjustment within the formula used to calculate good-cause contributions. The regulator has not disclosed exactly what proportion of the decline is attributable to this adjustment.

The fourth licence is structured so that each lottery product contributes funds at a uniform rate. Therefore, the volume of sales directly determines the amount of the contributions.

The promise to double contributions seems increasingly out of reach

Allwyn has been operating the National Lottery since February 2024, taking over from Camelot after three decades. In its bid for the licence, the company promised to more than double contributions, from around £30 million a week to £60 million by 2034. So far, however, the trend has been in the opposite direction.

Lottery funds support sport, culture, heritage, healthcare, education and environmental projects. Since its launch in November 1994, more than £53 billion has been allocated to these causes. The prolonged decline in contributions is directly reducing the inflow of new funds into these sectors.

The next report will reveal whether this is a blip or a trend

One weak quarter is not the end of the story. However, the combination of falling EuroMillions sales, a dip in instant-win games and the licence cost adjustment has resulted in a significant shortfall compared with last year. Sales figures for July and August will reveal whether the operator has managed to turn the situation around before questions start being asked not only by the press but also by Parliament.