About Lottery funding
The National Lottery is controlled by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, regulated by the Gambling Commission, and run by the private sector.
At present, of the money received in Lottery ticket sales 12% goes in tax to the Government, 50% to prizes, 5% to the retailer as commission for selling the ticket; 4.5% to the operator, 0.5% profit, and the remaining 28% goes donations to good causes across the UK.
The good causes cover the areas of:
- Health, Education, Environment and Charitable Causes
- Sport
- Arts
- Heritage
In Scotland, the National Lottery money is shared by the following distributing organisations:
- Creative Scotland
- National Lottery Heritage Fund
- National Lottery Community Fund
- Sport Scotland
Creative Scotland (https://www.creativescotland.com/funding) is the principal channel of public funding for the arts in Scotland. They receive funding from the Scottish Government and from the National Lottery, providing funding to support arts projects which make an important and lasting difference to the quality of life for the general public.
National Lottery Heritage Fund (www.hlf.org.uk) provides funding for projects which address the new Heritage 2033 investment principles of saving heritage; protecting the environment; inclusion, access and participation; and organisational sustainability.
National Lottery Community Fund (https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/) gives out millions of pounds from the National Lottery to good causes. This includes supporting community groups and projects that improve health, education and the environment.
Sport Scotland (www.sportscotland.org.uk) is the national agency for sport in Scotland. Eligible organisations and individuals can apply for a variety of awards to help purchase equipment, stage events, improve facilities and finance coaching amongst other things.