National Lottery money for good causes falls to lowest level in over five years – Arts Professional

The amount of money passed on to good causes from the National Lottery has dropped by more than a fifth in the space of a year, figures show.

Statistics published by the Gambling Commission show the total past good causes for the quarter of the current financial year (April-June 2026/27) was £377.2 million.

This is £107.7m (22.2%) less than the £485m contributed in the corresponding financial quarter last year (Q1 2025/26) and is the lowest figure for any financial quarter this decade.

The Gambling Commission said that, compared with Q1 2025/26, total lottery sales decreased by £261m (12.5%) driven primarily by lower EuroMillions (£169.9m) and interactive instant win games (£42.6m) sales.

Cost recovery

The fall in good cause contributions comes as Allwyn claws back the costs involved with taking over the contract from Camelot in 2024, known as the fourth licence.

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The Gambling Commission report says costs incurred by Allwyn for implementation of the fourth licence started to be recovered in the first quarter of 2026/27 by way of an “implementation adjustment” in the calculation of good causes contribution.

Earlier this year Allwyn put a figure on the amount the contract takeover has cost the company.

In a media briefing issued following a High Court ruling in April, rejecting in full the claims against the Gambling Commission in relation to the award of the Fourth National Lottery Licence, Allwyn cited implementation costs of around £450m.

Increased revenue measures ‘not fully implemented’

Allwyn added that the judge accepted that good causes and Allwyn suffered “very significant reductions” in revenue realised from the fourth lottery licence, as “measures designed to increase revenue generation have not yet been fully implemented”.

An Allwyn spokesperson said they “welcomed” the “clear and comprehensive judgement” that the licence had been “properly” awarded, adding: “The court further found that both good causes and Allwyn have suffered significant losses due to the delays caused by litigation brought by the unsuccessful applicants.”

They continued: “It also draws a line under a long-running series of allegations about the integrity of the competition process, many of which were withdrawn during the proceedings, with the remainder rejected by the court. The judgment provided clarity and legal certainty, and our focus now is on delivering for players and increasing funding for good causes.”

‘Strong foundations’ in place

Due to a largescale technology upgrade, the spokesperson said the National Lottery now has “the strong foundations in place to support continued innovation, long-term growth and increased returns to good causes over the course of the fourth licence.

“Having just launched two new draw games in the last two months, new Lotto and Powerball, we’re excited about this next chapter for the National Lottery.”

The firm has previously said it intends to double weekly contributions to good causes from £30m to £60m a week over the course of the 10-year licence, with a projected £760m going to the arts each year.

Last month the government announced a “comprehensive review” of National Lottery good cause funding, which will see the public given the opportunity to have their say on how the money should be spent.