More details emerge over plans to create Portsmouth Lottery for charities

Portsmouth City Council’s Tory cabinet is to thrash out its plan to roll out Portsmouth Lottery later this year.

It’s been proposed the authority forks out £3,500 to get an external lottery management company, called Gatherwell, to set it up.

In an official report going to councillors, the council’s director of finance says: ‘The use of an external lottery management company represents the most cost-effective and efficient method for providing a local authority lottery in Portsmouth.

‘To produce and deliver a lottery in-house would not be financially viable in the current economic climate.’

The public, third sector and charitable organisations would be able to take part.

It would work similarly to the Vale Lottery, a weekly lottery that directly supports good causes which benefit the Aylesbury Vale community.

Sixty-per cent of the tickets sold – which would cost £1 each – would go to good causes that benefit the community.

Another 20 per cent would be given to residents in the form of cash prizes – the highest being £20,000. The remaining 20 per cent would cover the lottery operator’s fees. Welcoming the plans, council leader Donna Jones said: ‘We have put time and resources into looking at public-run lotteries across the UK. There will be no profit-taking from this, all profits will go back into the community and there could be a city-wide grants panel potentially to allocate funding to the third sector and to charities.’

Gatherwell would secure the prize money with an insurance policy, so the lottery could launch as soon as the licence is approved by the Gambling Commission.

The plans will be finalised by the cabinet on Thursday at Portsmouth Guildhall, from 1pm.