Thanet council is aiming to create an isle lottery.
Cabinet members are due to discuss proposals for the Thanet Lottery this Thursday (April 27).
An external lottery manager will be hired to manage the project, which aims to distribute £30,000 a year to local good causes.
The set up
To set up the lottery the council has to apply for a Local Authority Lottery Licence from the Gambling Commission.
The authority will need to draw up a contract with the lottery manager, who also has to be licensed, to run the lottery but TDC will retain obligations to the Gambling Commission, including policies on fair and open gambling and regular reports on activity.
The council will also promote and launch the Lottery, authorise payments to good causes and complete monthly returns to the Gambling Commission.
Senior council officers will take overall management responsibility for the promotion and proper management of the scheme.
The contract will contain an early get out clause in case of low take up.
If Cabinet members approve the scheme, the licence will take between eight and 16 weeks to process. Thanet council is expected to start promoting the lottery and drawing up a list of good cause recipients from May with the first draw due to take place in October.
A report to Cabinet members says: “The establishment of a local lottery is a concept being explored by a number of local authorities across the country.
“At a time when there are increasing pressures on resources, lotteries are seen as a way of providing supplementary funding.”
Local authority lotteries in operation
Other authorities running the scheme include Aylesbury Vale, which was the first to launch its online local authority Vale Lottery in November 2015.
Since then, local authority lotteries are known to have started in Tonbridge and Malling, Portsmouth and Mendip, with others in the process of being set up, including Melton and Rushmoor.
In the report to Cabinet members it states: “The Vale Lottery is selling approximately 2,200 tickets a week to a population of approximately 190,000 (1.2%) and is expected to donate circa £65,000 to good causes.
“It is very hard to project sales in advance, but an equivalent performance in Thanet would generate sufficient proceeds to cover the budgeted target of £30,000.”
How it works
Local authorities have been able to set up their own lotteries under the Gambling Act since 2007.
A percentage of the proceeds from tickets sales goes into a lottery fund which charities and voluntary groups are invited to bid for.
The remainder goes towards running costs and prizes.