Public to get say over UK Lottery cash

May 26, 2005, 1:48 pm (5 comments)

UK National Lottery The public could be set to get a say on where the remainder of the UK National Lottery's money goes.

The new Lottery Bill could see Britons voting for their favourite good cause. It aims to increase competition in the bidding process for the licence to operate the Lottery.

Next week, the Big Lottery Fund, which hands out 50 per cent of all good causes money, will launch a new televised competition.

Called the People's Millions, the joint venture with ITV will allow viewers to vote for their favourite community projects of up to £50,000 via regional programmes.

For every £1 spent on National Lottery tickets, 28p goes to good causes. Nearly £17 billion has been raised for more than 190,000 projects in the past decade.

The Bill also outlines the creation of simpler rules to make it easier for groups to apply for grants and ensure that Lottery money reaches good cause projects more quickly. It also contains changes in the licensing and regulation of the Lottery.

The Bill will be debated in Parliament at its second reading at a date to be set. It could become law by the end of the year. This week, Lottery operator Camelot announced a £150 million increase in ticket sales in the year ending March 31.

ITV

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LOTTOMIKE's avatarLOTTOMIKE

well i wonder what they'll want the money to be used for....

jazam

Well,

we'd like the money to go towards hospitals and schools. The UK lottery commission have a habit of using money on elitist, London based projects while the rest of the country is largely ignored.

As an example 600 million pounds (over 1 billion dollars) was spent on London's Millenium Dome. Never heard of it? Exactly.

Jazam

CASH Only

I've heard of it.

LOTTOMIKE's avatarLOTTOMIKE

i know soccer is big there...

Todd's avatarTodd

Lottomike, you mean "football". Smile

I do understand jazam's point about money not going to worthwhile causes.  It's like that in the USA with state and federal budgets in general.  Some big expenditures leave you scratching your head, while all the things that politicians talk about (health care, retirement funds, etc.) have the appropriate funds taken away from them.

These disagreements over financial priorities will never go away, as long as people hold different opinions.  Because someone out there feels that the Millenium Dome was worth it.

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