Where The Health Lottery money goes

Since the launch of The Health Lottery in 2011, over £130 million has been raised for good causes across Great Britain, but where exactly does that money go?

article body image

How Health Lottery funding works

For every £1 spent on a Health Lottery  game, over 20p goes straight to funding health-related projects across Britain.

Rather than a national lottery, this one operates as six society lotteries operating in twelve geographical regions covering the whole of Great Britain. 

Each month, a different local society is supported. This means that every region gets a fair share of the pot.   

To date, The Health Lottery has helped to fund over 3,500 projects across Britain.

Funding is allocated to the charity partner People’s Health Trust and awarded to organisations that tackle health inequalities across Britain and aim to create healthier communities and environments through projects such as:

- Communal gardening schemes
- IT programmes for the elderly
- English language sessions for migrant communities
- Drop-in groups for people affected by depression
- Cooking classes
- Music classes to promote recovery
- Parenting classes
- Support for young LGBTQ+ people
- Social community activities to combat isolation
- Art, craft, and dance projects for young people and those with mental health issues

Who receives Health Lottery funding?

The Health Lottery has supported health-related projects in Great Britain that don’t currently receive NHS funding, including:

- Dementia UK
- Mencap
- The Children’s Food Trust
- The Alzheimer’s society
- Scope
- The Royal Voluntary Service
- Admiral Nurses
- Youth Sport Trust
- The Conservation Volunteers
- Carers Trust

Money raised through The Health Lottery supports a range of innovative projects across Britain.

Social Chef, a scheme that trains people to cook healthy meals from scratch, has been awarded £6,941 to run its programmes in Newcastle, Tyneside, Gateshead, and Sunderland.

Brecon and District Mind, a charity that supports people with mental health issues as they return to work, has benefitted from a £48,012 Health Lottery grant.

In London, £19,343 has been given to deliver tutoring sessions for children with learning difficulties, while the Big Red Bus Club tackles parenting isolation by providing a space for families to meet and share art, craft, and gardening classes. 

More unique projects include English language classes for the Chinese migrant community in Suffolk and a dance club that challenges ideas about disability in Swindon and Gloucestershire.

As The Health Lottery funding focus tours the regions, money continues to pour into the charity pot, improving the health and well-being of people and communities all over Britain. Thank you for the difference you make every time you play The Big Win or any of our other games!

The current society benefitting from funds raised is YNW Health CIC T/A HL Yorkshire and Humber

The Health Lottery operates on behalf of 6 Community Interest Companies (CICs), managing 6 society lotteries that operate in 12 geographical regions across Great Britain. These exist to help tackle health inequalities in their respective areas. People’s Health Trust (PHT) is an independent charity that assesses grant applications and award funding across the 12 regions. Read about some of the good causes HERE. For information regarding all funded projects or to submit a grant application visit PHT HERE. 20.34% of every lottery draw ticket and online scratchcard purchased is donated to good causes. 36.02% is spent on prizes. 43.64% is spent expenses (actual expenses exceed this figure). Our average annual proceeds from lotteries are £12.5m. The odds of winning The Big Win jackpot are (1 in 2.1m) and the odds of winning any Big Win prize is (1 in 9.7). The odds of winning the All or Nothing jackpot is (1 in 1.35m) and the odds of winning any All or Nothing prize is (1 in 4.5). The odds of winning a QuickWin jackpot is (1 in 2.1m) and the odds of winning any QuickWin prize is (1 in 6). All winning lottery numbers are selected using an approved random number generator (RNG). Click on the links below for full T&Cs and FAQs for each of our games.

Please help us to support vital health causes in your community. Each of the 6 society lotteries is licensed by the Gambling Commission.