The National Lottery generated £377.2m ($507.8m) for good causes during the first quarter of its 2026 to 2027 financial year, representing a 22.2% year-on-year decline.
Gambling Commission data for the April-to-June period showed that payments were also 15.6% lower than the £446.7m recorded in the preceding quarter.
The latest total comprised a £358.4m Good Causes Contribution from National Lottery operator Allwyn and £18.9m from other sources, including unclaimed prizes, interest on trust accounts and miscellaneous payments.
National Lottery sales declined by £261m, or 12.5%, compared with the same quarter last year. The Commission attributed most of the reduction to a £169.9m fall in EuroMillions sales and a £42.6m decrease from Interactive Instant Win Games.
Sales were also £85.6m lower than in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 2026.
Quarterly payments can fluctuate because of jackpot cycles, scratchcard closures and the timing of unclaimed prizes. The second and fourth quarters typically receive larger unclaimed-prize payments following the closure of scratchcard games.
National Lottery payments to good causes by quarter (£m)
Total quarterly payments to good causes from Q1 2025/26 to Q1 2026/27.
The latest figures also reflect changes introduced under the Fourth National Lottery Licence. Allwyn began operating the lottery in February 2024 under a ten-year licence that replaced Camelot’s three-decade tenure.
During the quarter, Allwyn began recovering costs connected with implementing the licence through an Implementation Adjustment used in the calculation of its Good Causes Contribution.
The Gambling Commission has previously said full implementation was delayed beyond the original February 2025 timetable and that enforcement action had been initiated.
The operator is undertaking a wider overhaul of the lottery’s retail and digital systems. Changes during 2026 have included upgrades to the website and app, revisions to Lotto and the planned UK introduction of Powerball.
Allwyn has set a target of increasing weekly good-cause returns from approximately £30m at the start of the licence to £60m by 2034.
Despite the quarterly decline, the National Lottery generated £1.7bn for good causes across the latest four quarters. More than £53bn has been raised since the lottery launched in November 1994.
The Gambling Commission’s latest funding data follows publication of the 2025 Gambling Survey for Great Britain, which found that 47% of adults had gambled during the previous four weeks and that the problem gambling rate stood at 2.4%.
The Government estimates that approximately 23p from every pound spent on National Lottery tickets is allocated to good causes, while 12p is paid through Lottery Duty
