Charity lotteries in 2026: five findings from the Lotteries Benchmarking Report

Charity lotteries are a significant source of fundraising income, but how much do we really know about their performance, costs and potential?

The Lotteries Council asked AAW Group (AAW) to build the most complete picture yet of UK charity lottery income, costs and performance. We presented the findings at the Council's 2026 annual conference, and the full Lotteries Benchmarking Report 2026 is now available.

The report draws on Gambling Commission statistics, Charity Commission financial records, individual charity accounts, interviews with six senior figures from across the sector and a survey of 25 charities and lottery operators. The survey sample is relatively small, so those findings should be treated as indicative, but the wider analysis offers plenty to consider.

Here are five findings that caught our attention.

1. The market has more than doubled in 10 years

UK charity lotteries sold £1.1bn of tickets in 2024 and contributed £484.6m to good causes in 2024–25. Sales have grown by 137% since 2015. Over the same period, giving by individuals in the UK rose by around 60%.

One operator accounts for a substantial share of that growth. People's Postcode Lottery takes 60% of all charity lottery sales and nearly half of the money reaching good causes.

There are signs that growth is slowing, however. Since 2022, sales have risen by 15% and contributions to good causes by 11%, as expenses and prizes have increased faster than income.

The market has come a long way in a decade, but the latest figures suggest operators will need to keep a close eye on costs to sustain that progress.

2. For air ambulances, the lottery pays for a third of the service

For air ambulance charities, lotteries are a particularly important source of income.

The 21 air ambulance charities raised £97m from lotteries in 2024, accounting for 38% of all lottery income in our database of 90 charities. On average, lottery income makes up 33% of an air ambulance charity's total income.

The picture is very different for large health charities such as Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation, where lottery income accounts for well under 5% of total income.

This is a useful reminder that the value of a lottery depends heavily on the charity and its fundraising model. For some, it is a major pillar of income. For others, it plays a much smaller part.

3. A lottery player costs about a quarter as much to retain as a regular giver

Recruitment costs are one of the clearest areas where lotteries compare favourably with regular giving.

In our survey, the median cost of recruiting a new lottery entry was £40. The Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIoF) benchmarks put the average cost of recruiting a new donor at £104.

The difference becomes even more interesting when attrition is factored in. Between 12% and 16% of people recruited face to face never make a first payment. Around a quarter of lottery players stop in the first year, compared with about half of regular givers.

Allowing for both, a lottery player still playing at the start of year two costs about £62 to recruit and retain, compared with around £217 for a regular giver.

Lottery players do bring in less each year, at £52 against roughly £102 for a regular giver. That makes retention particularly important. The longer players stay, the more opportunity charities have to generate a return on their recruitment investment.

4. Weekly lotteries raise more per pound than regular giving

Across the 55 charities in the AAW/CIoF Fundraising Benchmarks 2024, weekly lotteries raised £3.65 for every £1 spent. Regular giving raised £3.18 and community fundraising £3.07.

That puts weekly lotteries ahead of both channels on this measure, although performance varies considerably between operators.

Across the 29 charities in our database that report lottery costs, the median return was £2 for every £1 spent. Several survey respondents also reported short-term losses as a result of heavy investment in recruiting new players.

The headline figures are encouraging, but the result also depends on recruitment costs, player retention and the time it takes to recover the investment. Understanding those differences matters when deciding how much to invest and what return to expect.

5. Lottery players could be a valuable source of legacies

One of the most promising findings concerns the relationship between lottery participation and legacy giving.

Analysis presented at the 2025 CIoF National Convention found that people who had pledged a gift in their will to the National Trust for Scotland were more than six times as likely to have played its lottery as other supporters.

The trust put that connection to practical use in 2023. By using lottery data to select people to approach about legacies, it increased the response rate to its mailing from 0.55% to 1.70%.

Every interviewee recognised the link between lottery participation and legacy giving. Most also said that few charities were acting on it.

There could be a real opportunity here. Lottery players are already engaged supporters, and the data charities hold about them may help identify people who are also open to leaving a gift in their will. Connecting the two activities could lead to more conversations with supporters about leaving a gift.

Read the full report

These five findings offer a glimpse of what the benchmarking reveals about charity lotteries, from their contribution to good causes to the importance of recruitment, retention and links with other fundraising activities.

Over the coming weeks, we'll explore the findings in more detail. In the meantime, the full Lotteries Benchmarking Report 2026 is available to purchase now!