Key Takeaways
- Lottery fundraising can help charities generate regular income while offering supporters the chance to win prizes.
- Working with an expert charity lottery provider can save time, reduce administrative costs and simplify the setup process.
- Experienced providers can help charities navigate lottery regulations, compliance requirements and data protection.
- Effective supporter engagement is essential for building lasting relationships and encouraging ongoing participation.
- From ready-to-go options such as Affinity Lottery to fully bespoke services, charities can find a solution that suits their fundraising goals.
It’s official: your nation loves lottery fundraising
According to the Gambling Commission's latest industry statistics, published in September 2026, ticket sales for large society lotteries reached £1.2 billion in 2025/26, an increase of 5.7% on the previous year. What's more, these lotteries contributed an impressive £498.5 million to good causes!
With figures like these, it's clear that lotteries continue to offer exciting opportunities for charities looking to grow their fundraising income.
If you’re wondering how to set up a lottery for your charity, you’re not alone. The potential is enormous, but getting started can feel like a mountain to climb. That’s where working with an expert charity lottery provider can make all the difference.
Why choose lottery fundraising for your charity?
So, what’s the appeal? Well, for consumers, donating through a charity lottery is a pretty low monthly expense, and it’s easy to do too.
The appeal of a cash prize always helps, with 50% of lottery players surveyed saying that the size of the maximum prize was an important factor in choosing which lottery to play.
And there's also the feel-good factor of donating money to charity. In fact, the same research found that 67% of lottery players considered supporting good causes an important factor in their decision to play.
From your perspective as a charity, a weekly lottery means that you’ll enjoy a stable monthly commitment. Plus, there’s plenty of potential for donor acquisition by using lottery as an entry point. So really, it’s no wonder that so many charities decide that lottery is right for their charity!
If you’re looking into how to set up a lottery as part of your fundraising strategy, read on to discover five ways an expert provider such as Woods Valldata can help…
5 fantastic ways an expert provider can help you set up your charity lottery
1. They can save you time
Sure, as a charity, it’s possible to set up and manage your own lottery, but it’s no secret that setting up a lottery is time consuming. There’s compliance, draw admin, and marketing to think about, and you’ll also need to deal with response handling and reporting data too.
With so much to do, it’s no wonder that so many charities choose to enlist the support of a charity lottery providers. An expert provider will work as an extension of your team. They’ve got the know-how, technology, and industry expertise to set your lottery up in no time so you can get to market quicker.
By outsourcing your lottery management, you can reduce the administrative burden on your team and benefit from specialist support throughout the process.
Basically, they’ll take care of all the details, so you can free up your time to focus on building your relationships with your charity supporters!
2. They can save you money
Bear with us here. Of course, on the surface, outsourcing your charity lottery might sound more expensive than keeping things in-house - but the reality is that outsourcing your lottery to an expert provider can actually save you money in the long term (yes, really!).
For starters, you’ll benefit from access to the latest technology, which means you can process responses and fulfilment faster. Less hassle means less resource needed - which can significantly save costs.
Additionally, because the relationships you build with your provider will quickly become a partnership, you’ll work together to achieve your fundraising objectives fast.
What’s more, outsourcing can help reduce the upfront investment needed to establish your lottery. At Woods Valldata, for example, our range of charity lottery solutions are designed to suit different charity needs, budgets and fundraising ambitions.
3. They can ensure you’re confident on compliance
Keeping compliant is an ongoing pressure for charities. Not only is it a compulsory regulation, but if you want to maintain a positive supporter experience and gain trust in your charity, you need to ensure you remain compliant.
Luckily, working with an external provider can take the weight of compliance off your shoulders. An expert provider should have up-to-date compliance understanding of the Gambling Commission’s legislation, as well as the necessary data protection requirements needed to handle payment data.
At Woods Valldata, for example, we have our very own in-house head of compliance. What’s more, we are also compliant in several key areas, such as:
- PCI DSS Level 1 Service Provider (the highest level of PCI DSS compliance)
- Gambling Commission ELM and RTS Compliance
- UK GDPR
- Corporate and social responsibility compliance measures
- Information Security Management Systems (ISO/IEC 27001:2013)
- Business Continuity Management (ISO 22301:2012)
- Quality Management systems (ISO 9001:2015)
- Environmental Management systems (ISO 14001:2015)
- Bacs Approved Bureau
You can find out more about our compliance standards, licences and policies.
4. They can help you engage with your supporters
Engaging with your supporters is essential if you are going to provide an excellent lottery experience.
Plus, if you're using lottery fundraising as an entry point for donor acquisition, you need to ensure optimum engagement. After all, if your supporters are going to be in it for the long haul, they need to feel valued and appreciated!
At Woods Valldata, we offer services such as response handling, direct debit management, and fulfilment, so you can engage with your supporters at no expense of your time of resources.
With services such as personalised thank yous, supporter journey planning, and a supporter services team to speak to your lottery players and solve enquiries fast, we can help to create an entirely seamless experience.
As such, you can process applications to play quickly and ensure that your supporters feel cared for.
5. They’ll have different products to suit your needs
In life - and in lottery! - one size never fits all. If you’re a small charity, your lottery needs aren’t going to be the same as huge national charities, and neither is your budget. The great news is, when you work with an expert lottery provider, they will have different products depending on what your charity needs.
At Woods Valldata, we have three levels of lottery available to choose from: Affinity, Aspire, and Advantage. That’s three different ways of running a lottery with all of the support and experience you need.
From ready-to-go packages to fully bespoke lotteries, our approaches have been carefully created to match the diverse scale, needs and ambitions of charities today.
So, you can rest assured that whatever your needs, we'll help you find the right product for your lottery.
Ready to get the (lottery) ball rolling?
Still wondering how to set up a lottery that’s right for your charity? We know that setting up a lottery for your charity can feel daunting. With so much to think about, it’s only natural to feel overwhelmed.
However, at Woods Valldata, our team of experts can help you every step of the way.
From migration or set-up to taking on the administration and operational elements, let us take care of your lottery so you can focus on what’s important: your supporters.
Want to find out more? Then let’s get started! Contact our team today to find out more about how to set up a lottery that works for you.
Alternatively, why not join us for one of our ‘Introduction to Weekly Lottery for Charities’ webinars? Especially created for charities thinking about setting up a lottery, our webinars are the perfect way to find out more about how the process works. Find the next session here!
Frequently asked questions about charity lotteries
What is lottery fundraising?
Lottery fundraising is a way for charities and other good causes to raise money by offering supporters the chance to win prizes through a lottery.
Supporters typically purchase tickets or sign up for regular draws, helping charities generate income while offering participants the excitement of a potential win.
For many charities, a weekly lottery can be a valuable addition to their wider fundraising strategy.
How do you set up a charity lottery?
Setting up a charity lottery involves choosing the right lottery format, understanding the relevant legal requirements, establishing prize structures and draw processes, and planning how you'll recruit and support players.
You'll also need to consider payment processing, marketing, data management and ongoing administration.
Working with an experienced charity lottery provider can help simplify the process. Find out more in our guide to setting up a lottery.
Do charities need a licence to run a lottery?
Whether your charity needs a licence or registration depends on the type and scale of lottery you're planning to run.
For example, smaller society lotteries generally require registration with a local authority, while larger society lotteries require a Gambling Commission operating licence.
Online lottery activities also have specific licensing or registration requirements.
You can find further guidance on the Gambling Commission website.
What are the benefits of using an external lottery provider?
An external lottery provider can help charities save time, manage operational costs, understand compliance requirements and improve supporter engagement.
Providers can also offer specialist technology, draw administration, payment processing and supporter services.
This allows your charity to focus more of its time on building supporter relationships and achieving its fundraising goals.
Explore the benefits of outsourced fundraising services to find out how expert support could help your charity.
Is lottery fundraising suitable for small charities?
Absolutely! Charity lotteries aren't just for large national organisations.
Smaller charities can also benefit from regular lottery income, although the right approach will depend on their resources, supporter base and fundraising objectives.
Solutions such as Affinity Lottery can help charities explore lottery opportunities without taking on all the day-to-day administration themselves.