The UK prides itself on not only offering entertaining lottery games but also making them a source of charitable work.

In essence, as people play lottery games, they are also contributing to the welfare of humans and animals to varying degrees. 

In this King Casino blog post, we will discuss what charity lotteries are and how they work and also give you a list of some of the best lottery charities, including animal lottery charities.

What Are Charity Lotteries & How Do They Work?

Giving back to the community is one of the best ways anyone can show they care, including organisations. For lottery organisations, this means donating a portion of the lottery sales or the unclaimed winnings back to those who need it the most as charity. That is what charity lotteries are.

Regardless of what kind of charity they are, they usually work by taking a portion of the lottery ticket sales and donating it to a specific charity. 

That means when you purchase your lottery tickets, you are also contributing to several good causes while standing a chance to win handsome rewards.

List of The Best Charity Lotteries In The UK

Let’s take a look at some of the best charity lotteries in the UK:

National Lottery Good Causes

The National Lottery Good Causes charity is one of the most popular lottery charities in the UK. Established in 1994, it supports a wide range of charities across the UK. It is known for supporting sports initiatives, heritage preservation, and helping develop UK communities.

In the last decade alone, the National Lottery Good Causes has donated ￡2+ billion towards environmental good causes.

People’s Postcode Lottery

The People’s Postcode Lottery uses a subscription where subscribers can participate in daily lottery games while part of the proceeds go to charitable causes. The subscription entails a monthly fee, and you sign up with your postcode. 

A portion of the money raised from the subscriptions (about 30%) goes to charities, and another portion contributes to the lottery games.

The Health Lottery

As the name suggests, the Health Lottery charity foundation contributes to health-related causes across the UK. Funds go to community healthcare services, medical research and hospices. It has been one of the significant role players in tackling health inequalities in the UK and across Great Britain. 

Unity Lottery

Unity Lottery is a charity-focused lottery that lets you choose the good cause you want to support. Whether you are passionate about babies and pregnancies, brain health, research towards cancer and cancer patients support, or contributing towards mental health, the Unity Lottery helps you get started. 

Postcode Children Trust

The Postcode Children Trust’s purpose is to help children and the youth of the UK improve their lives and uplift their communities. If you play the Postcode Children Trust lottery, you contribute to improving children’s welfare, education, and development. The charities they support include NSPCC, Young Lives vs Cancer, Girlguiding and Children 1st.

Animal Charity Lotteries

The lottery charities aren’t limited to humans only; they are also aimed towards various domestic and wild animals. Below are some of the animal-focused lottery charities:

PDSA Lottery

The PDSA Lottery is a weekly lottery that participants can play for only ￡1 a week. The proceeds from this lottery go into the PDSA organisation, one of the leading veterinary charities in the UK. Its mission is to help domestic animals by educating their owners and providing life-saving care practices, whether through operations or vaccinations.

RSPCA Weekly Lottery

The RSPCA Weekly Lottery is another charity lottery aimed at supporting domestic animals from neglect and abuse across the UK. A portion of the money you use to buy the ticket goes to the RSPCA to help the organisation continue providing shelter, veterinary care, rehabilitation and rehoming to domestic animals that need it the most.

Dogs Trust Weekly Lottery

The Dogs Trust Weekly Lottery takes every ￡1 you play with and puts it towards funding the Dog Trust charity, which helps save unwanted pets from the streets, provides temporary shelter, and later rehomes them to deserving owners. 

Which Charity Lottery Has The Best Odds?

We cannot say with absolute certainty which charity lottery has the best odds. It is important to note that charity lotteries prioritise the charities they support, so they may not award the highest payouts of all lottery games – the prizes can range a fair bit. 
Therefore, if you choose to play charity lotteries, you must understand that they are an opportunity for you to contribute to a good cause while also offering the chance to win cash prizes.