THE Tunbridge Wells Lotto has exceeded all expectations within a month of its launch, leading the council to upgrade its forecasts on how much will be raised.
Before the first weekly draw on July 8, council officials were hoping to raise between £9,000 and £27,600 in the first year to give to good causes. By comparison, Tonbridge’s Hive Lotto, launched in September, expects to raise around £7,500 within its first full year.
However, as of the latest draw on July 29, playershave bought 937 tickets for the Tunbridge Wells game, meaning if the momentum carries on good causes and community initiatives within the borough will receive £30,000 by the end of the year – equivalent to 60 per cent of total sales.
These figures are constantly being revised each week as more and more people take part. The 54 approved good causes will not necessarily all be equal beneficiaries, as players can chose to support specific organisations.
Recent prize winners had chosen to put their ticket money towards supporting Nourish Community Foodbank, Trinity Theatre, Pickering Cancer Drop in Centre, Kent Search and Rescue and the Tunbridge Wells Arts Festival, among others.
Most of the donations, though, are being made to the ‘TW Lotto’ itself, meaning this money will be evenly distributed among all the causes signed up.
Not every recent winner has been local, with players from Chatham, Margate, Dover and Hever, taking part.
No one has yet won the £25,000 jackpot through matching six numbers in the right order – an eventuality the lotto organiser Gatherwell and the Council have insured against in order to ensure the pay-out does not hit donations.
Cabinet member Councillor Jane March said:”Thank you to the nearly 50 groups, charities and good causes, who have signed up to benefit from the lottery. Ticket sales are going well so all in all it’s a very promising start.”
How it works?
- Winning the £25,000 jackpot will require players to match six numbers.
- Five correct numbers will get you £2,000, four is worth £250, three earns you £25 and two numbers gets you three free tickets.
- The chances of winning the jackpot are one in a million.
- The chance of winning any cash prize is 50 to 1.
- For each £1 ticket, 60p goes to community groups, while 20p goes towards prizes.
- The remainder pays for the lottery operator and VAT.
- Players will be able to specify which of the good causes they wish to support.
- The lotto is insured in the event of someone hitting the jackpot in order to ensure they do not have to take money away from good causes to cover the prize money.
To buy tickets visit www.twlotto.co.uk
