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A coalition of charity lotteries has published a report seeking to show that the sector is among the safest forms of gambling.
A group of companies under the banner the Association of Charity Lotteries in Europe (ACLEU) is attempting to position the sector as a safe style of gambling that should be protected by legislation.
The “Beyond the Jackpot, Analysing the safety of charity lotteries” report claims that problem gambling rates among problem lottery players are low, similar to those of state lottery games.
Those players who do qualify as problem gambling and play charity lotteries are likely to have developed problematic play because of the other products they gamble with, the report argues.
The lottery group hopes the report will help insulate it from tightening compliance requirements across Europe, especially those driven by a political desire to reduce problem gambling.
“The debate on problem gambling can often treat the gambling sector as if every product is the same, with the same potential risks, where that is clearly not the case,” said Malcolm Fleming, ACLEU president.
“Charity lotteries already face considerable operating regulations in the countries we fundraise in. However, there is a danger that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to gambling regulations could harm charity lottery fundraising, despite the widespread understanding from previous research that charity lotteries are a low risk product,” he said.
One of the report’s co-authors, Paul Leyland, said: “These findings should serve as a reassurance to both participants and policymakers that charity lotteries can, and do, operate without increasing the risk of harmful play.”
ACLEU members include the UK Health Lottery, Sweden’s Miljonlotteriet and various international members of the The Postcode Lottery Group.
Charity lotteries in the UK have long pushed for the removal of a £50m annual sales cap, which has remained in place since 2020.
The sector has not completely avoided enforcement across Europe.
In 2023, the National Postcode Lottery in the Netherlands was threatened with a fine for offering games not permitted by its licence.
