The Health Lottery logo |
|
| Region | Great Britain |
|---|---|
| Launched | 2011 |
| Operator | Northern and Shell |
| Regulated by | Gambling Commission |
| Jackpot | £100,000 |
| Odds of winning the jackpot | 1 in 2,118,760 |
| Number of draws | 9 (as of 3 December 2011) |
| Number of Games | 1 |
| Televised on | ITV1 (until 5/11/11) Channel 5 |
The Health Lottery is a lottery in Great Britain launched in October 2011 where players must choose five different numbers from the range 1 to 50 and match at least three in order to win a prize. It is operated by Northern and Shell[1] which owns numerous media outlets in the United Kingdom.
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Players must be at least 16 years old and tickets are only sold in the island of Great Britain, so it is not possible to play in Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man.
The origins of the Health Lottery predate the National Lottery, to the failed National Health Service Lottery which had an abortive launch in 1988, before being declared illegal. The assets of the NHS Lottery were purchased in 2007 by Altala Group Ltd, a company run by Ian Milligan, a former employee of Camelot Group, the operators of the UK National Lottery. [2] Altala went into administration in 2009, shortly before it was due to be granted its gambling licence, and was purchased by Health Lottery Ltd.[3]. After successfully winning the licence, the Health Lottery was then sold in February 2011 to Richard Desmond's Northern and Shell group. [4] The Health Lottery launched in September 2011.
The draws for The Health Lottery are broadcast live on the ITV network and Channel 5. It is currently shown during an advertisment break of The X Factor, paid for by Northern and Shell, and shortly after on Channel 5. It was initially planned to be hosted by Eamonn Holmes[5] but as Holmes was employed by Sky News, he was dropped due to a possible conflict of interest.[6] Melinda Messenger was confirmed as the host on 5 October 2011.[7]
On 9 November 2011, the Health Lottery announced that the Saturday night TV draw show would be extended in length to showcase where the good causes money raised is being spent, as from the 12 November when it moved exclusively onto Channel 5.
Players must choose five different numbers between 1 and 50, or can opt for their numbers to be selected randomly by machine. The cost of one ticket to play is £1.
The lottery is largely operated on a fixed prize basis, with the prize amounts staying the same regardless as to the number of winners. However, should the number of winners be too high then the prizes can be scaled back (see Sections 6.12 to 6.14 of the terms and conditions here)
| Matching numbers | Prize | Odds of winning |
|---|---|---|
| 3 numbers | £50 | 1 in 214 |
| 4 numbers | £500 | 1 in 9,417 |
| 5 numbers | £100,000 | 1 in 2,118,760 |
| The overall odds of winning any prize is 1 in 209.24 | ||
| Breakdown of revenue | |
|---|---|
| 22.0% | in operating costs, marketing and administration |
| 20.3% | to good causes |
| 33.4% | to winners |
| 24.3% | Unexplained |
This compares very unfavourably with the National Lottery
| National Lottery Revenue | |
|---|---|
| 10.0% | in operating costs, marketing and administration |
| 28.0% | to good causes |
| 50.0% | to winners |
| 12.0% | Tax |
| 0.0% | Unexplained |
The prize fund percentage is not stated on The Health Lottery website and requires verification-excludes promotions.
An independent charity, the People's Health Trust, will identify where the good causes money is most needed and award grants to groups across England, Scotland and Wales. Its focus is on tackling health inequalities, helping people live longer healthier lives.
The game has been criticised for donating only 20.3% of the ticket price to good causes, verses 28% donated by the National Lottery. Sir Stephen Bubb of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations has described it as a "disgraceful development". Spokespersons for The Health Lottery argue that the game will grow the market.[8] The lottery has also attracted the attention of the Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom) for articles published in both Daily Express and the Daily Star which appear to be adverts for the new lottery. [9] The culture secretary Jeremy Hunt announced in late October that the Gambling Commission would investigate the legality of the Health Lottery, after questions were raised about the way the lottery was being run and the cost to smaller lotteries nationwide. [10]
Due to the requirements of the Gambling Act, the Health Lottery is not structured as a national lottery, but rather as 51 different society lotteries, each one representing at least one local authority area within England, Scotland and Wales. Each society lottery is licensed by the Gambling Commission and operates as an individual Community Interest Company, or CIC. Different CICs take turns in participating in a weekly draw so each week different CICs are represented and every region gets a share of the pot. Money is then donated to support health-related good causes within their respective local areas. The Health Lottery ELM Ltd operates as an external lottery manager to oversee the society lotteries. The ELM charges a management fee of 0.5p in every pound, which provides the profit for the lottery owners. The allocation of funds to good causes raised by the Health Lottery is determined by the relevant CICs and their partner charity, the People’s Health Trust, and not by The Health Lottery ELM Ltd.[11]
In 2010 this complicated structure was judged by the Gambling Commission regulatory panel to be "close to the line in respect of section 99 of the [Gambling] Act" and that while the structure was "capable of being compliant with the Act" it was "finely balanced". Concern was expressed that the individual lotteries were not to be combined into one de facto national lottery, as to do so would be a breach of the Act. [12]