The Health Lottery

About The Health Lottery

It’s important not to think of the Health Lottery (founded in autumn 2011) as a ‘national’ draw. Rather, it’s an independent collection of a dozen local society lotteries. Each one represents a number of local authority areas, is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission and works to raise money for health-related good causes in its own area across England, Wales and Scotland.

Over the years since its launch, more than £100m has been raised to support health-related good causes, from loneliness, dementia and mental health issues to learning disabilities. Crucially, each society takes it in turns to take part in the draws on a rotating basis, so that every area gets a fair share of the proceeds. In all, 20p for every £1 spent, or 20%, goes to the local health-based work. (Interestingly, this compares with 28% for the National Lottery.)

Since its launch, hundreds of local charities and grassroots projects have received funds for thousands of projects helping hundreds of thousands of people.

The site’s graphics are lively and colourful, setting up an account is pretty straightforward, and you can pay via bank transfers and debit cards. There’s also the chance to play in a syndicate with friends, colleagues or family members.

What games are on offer at the Health Lottery?

Alongside the main draw, the Health Lottery offers scratchcards, instant win games and its monthly £250,000 Mega Raffle.

Rewards of loyalty

There are more promos than you might have expected, for example, this lottery has run offers such as encouraging players to take selfies of themselves holding their ticket for a chance to win an iPad pro. Previous promotions have included separate £100,000 draws, free tickets and 60% cashback deals to anyone spending £20.

Summing up

Playing the Health Lottery is affordable, and there’s a philanthropic side to this lottery which you clearly don’t get with other forms of gambling. That said, the top jackpot of £25,000 is, of course, much smaller than what you could play for in, say, the National Lottery or EuroMillions. And some industry reviewers have found the range of games on offer quite limited.

Then again, you are playing with an incredibly user-friendly safe and regulated site, with all data very securely encrypted. So if you’re based in the UK and want to help support the causes it supports, give it a whirl!