Poor benefitting least from Lottery, warns Theos

The National Lottery represents a bad deal for Britain's poor, according to a new report launched on Monday by the theology think tank Theos.

Using a combination of polling undertaken by ComRes and analysis of existing research into the Lottery, the report reveals that people in Britain's lowest socio-economic groups are more likely to play the lottery than their more affluent counterparts, but they are less likely to benefit from lottery funding.

People receiving benefits are more likely to play scratch cards and draw-based games than those not on benefits. People who earn less than £20,000 a year spend on average £55.39 a year on scratch cards, compared with the national average of £44.18.

Commenting on the research, Paul Woolley, Director of Theos, said the research added to a growing body of evidence showing that Lottery players come from poorer backgrounds and spend significantly more than affluent players.

The research found that despite people from lower socio-economic groups spending more on the Lottery, insufficient funding was being invested back into Britain's deprived communities.

It pointed to the example of Blaenau Gwent, the poorest area in the UK, which ranks only 133rd in the amount of lottery funding it receives. Bridgend is the UK's second poorest area but ranks only 224th in terms of the amount of lottery funding it receives.

He said National Lottery distributors had an obligation to ensure that all parts of the country have fair access to funds and that awards should be made "with a view to reducing economic and social deprivation".

"In reality, Lottery funding across all the streams – arts, sports, heritage and charitable expenditure – is insufficiently targeted on the communities that need it most," he said.

"The Lottery might have created a new source of funding for projects that would otherwise have remained un-funded, but this has come with a high price tag for Britain's poor.

"This is about social justice. If the Lottery is to continue, it is essential that a greater proportion of funding is invested back into the communities from which it is taken.

"The old argument that the National Lottery is a 'tax' on the poor for the benefit of the middle classes may have some justification."