Grassroots causes Pic: Huw John, Cardiff to benefit from all-Wales lottery
LOCAL good causes in North Wales could benefit from a new society lottery when it launches this week.
Tickets for the new all-Wales lottery go on sale on April 10 with the first draw on April 28.
The weekly “loto” draw has a guaranteed jackpot of £25,000 – the maximum the lottery can offer under society lottery rules – with a minimum of 20% of proceeds being channelled to grassroots community causes across the country.
The loto jackpot winners will need to match five of 39 drawn numbers and other prizes will also be on offer for matching fewer numbers. Tickets are priced at just £1 and players will have a better than one in nine chance of winning a prize – better than the National Lottery Lotto.
Every ticket – unless it has scooped the jackpot – will also be entered free into loto+, a monthly raffle offering 10 guaranteed £1,000 prizes. The first loto+ draw will also take place on April 28.
Operator Loteri Cymru is a Community Interest Company chaired by WRU Chairman and former Wales rugby international, Gareth Davies.
A charitable arm, Hanfod Cymru, has been established to distribute a minimum of 20% of the proceeds from Loteri Cymru ticket sales to good causes.
Local charities all over Wales will be invited to apply for support for community projects with educational, social and cultural benefits. Further details on the charitable arm are to be announced in the coming days.
S4C is Loteri Cymru’s exclusive broadcast partner, with the rights to broadcast each draw on its TV and online channels, and to all programming around the good causes.
Loteri Cymru Chair, Gareth Davies said Loteri Cymru will add to the amount of money raised in Wales for good causes while offering an attractive jackpot and affordable ticket price.
“We are launching Loteri Cymru to create a win-win for the people and communities of Wales, where individuals can afford to try their luck at winning a life-enhancing jackpot and local communities like North Wales benefit, too,” he said. Our research has shown that people really like the idea of a dedicated Welsh lottery that benefits local causes. We want Loteri Cymru to become a real part of life here, so that, as soon as possible, everyone in Wales will know someone who has won a prize or be aware of a good cause that has benefited.”
Its chief executive, Sue Carter said the team had set out to devise a lottery that would give people a “genuinely good chance of winning” with a variety of prizes.
Tickets can be bought online only by anyone aged 16 or over at loteri.cymru from 00:01 on April 10, with the weekly loto draw to be broadcast on S4C at 8pm every Friday from April 28. For more information, visit loteri.cymru and hanfod.cymru.