This summer has certainly been one for sport with the Olympics just finishing with an elaborate closing ceremony. The one thing that this Olympics has made me reconsider is playing the National Lottery. In recent years I had stopped playing with the view that there was limited chance of winning, forgetting about how it has helped good causes, including the sporting world.
The National Lottery was introduced in 1994, and the last Olympic games prior to this was held in Barcelona in 1992. Great Britain won 22 medals in Barcelona, compared to 65 medals this year in Paris and I think you can credit the contribution of the National Lottery to this increase. It has funded over 6800 elite athletes*1, including Sir Chris Hoy over this period.
With the money spent on the National Lottery, 53% goes to the prize draw, with about 25% donated to good causes*2, and the remainder going towards the administration and also to the Government.
When the National Lottery was first introduced I remember thinking, “how difficult could it be to choose 6 numbers?”, but the odds are actually over 45,000,000 to 1*3. However, I think it is exactly as the advert says, “You have to be in it to win it”, and obviously individuals do win, in fact I have even advised a client who won over £50,000. But for myself, I will look at it differently going forward and see this game for what it has achieved, rather than considering whether or not I could win.
Yet again don’t forget, if you do win, we can advise you on how to invest the proceeds and if you would like some guidance on this or any other investment advice, please remember we offer a free without obligation consultation.
*1 Allwyn, June 2024
*2 Wikipedia
*3 The Sun (newspaper)