Where the money goes

You have supported 685,000 amazing projects

Making sure as much money as possible goes towards life-changing projects is incredibly important to us. In fact, it’s what we’re here for. For every ticket sold, a hefty slice of the money received goes to a huge variety of projects, both big and small – from repairing Scout huts to making Olympic and Paralympic champions.

So, every time you play, the UK wins.

We retain around just 1% of revenue in profit, while around 95% of total revenue goes back to winners and society. More so, we run one of the most cost-efficient major lotteries in Europe, with around 4% of total revenue spent on operating costs.

To date, National Lottery players have helped to raise £48 billion for Good Causes, with more than 685,000 individual awards made across the UK. With hundreds of lottery grants in every postcode district, most people will have benefited from a National Lottery-funded project at some point.

As has always been the case, the total amount delivered to these projects depends on a number of variable factors. These include the mix of games sold, whether they’re bought in a shop or online, and the level of unclaimed prizes.

A year in numbers

From total ticket sales of £8,190.3 million in the year ending 31 March 2023:

  • £1,877.3 million was generated for National Lottery projects
  • £4,694.0 million was awarded to players in prizes
  • £982.8 million went to the Government in Lottery Duty
  • £254.7 million was earned by retailers in commission

Awarding National Lottery funding

Decisions on how and where funding is invested are made by 12 specialist organisations. These are chosen by Parliament for their knowledge and expertise to help ensure the money goes exactly where it’s needed.

In the year ending 31 March 2023, the funds were shared as follows:

  • Health, education, environment and charitable causes – 40%
  • Sport – 20%
  • Arts – 20%
  • Heritage – 20%

To find out more about the funding made possible by our players and discover projects in your local area, visit www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/good-causes.

Read our featured National Lottery Projects stories to find out who has benefited from National Lottery funding and the difference it has made.

The National Lottery has been changing the lives of winners and supporting good causes across the UK since 1994. In that time, there have been more than 7,000 new millionaires created and by playing The National Lottery you raise over £4 million for Good Causes every dayΔ.

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