Kettering could soon have its own lottery

It would give people the chance to win cash prizes - while supporting local causes at the same time
Cllr Craig Skinner hopes a community lottery for Kettering will be set upCllr Craig Skinner hopes a community lottery for Kettering will be set up
Cllr Craig Skinner hopes a community lottery for Kettering will be set up

You've got to be in it to win it - and Kettering residents could soon have the chance to play their own lottery while helping support local causes.

Kettering Town Council will tonight (Wednesday) discuss the possibility of setting up a community lottery for the town, which would potentially offer a jackpot of £25,000.

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Similar to schemes in Corby and Northampton, it would be managed externally with cash prizes on offer for winners and the majority of proceeds going to Kettering community groups.

The move is being driven by Cllr Craig Skinner (Con, Ise Lodge), who hopes it would allow the council to help fund projects and initiatives when they wouldn't ordinarily be able to do so.

He said: "We want to be ambitious in what we do and how we help community groups and we are going to need additional income streams to do that.

"This seems to be a great way for people to play a lottery, have a bit of fun and help local groups at the same time."

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If the lottery was set up it would be able to be played by anyone, not just those who live in the town, but Kettering groups who were chosen or signed up would benefit.

It's estimated that between 50 per cent and 60 per cent of proceeds would go to town groups, with remainder going to the prize fund and administration fees.

Cllr Skinner said that just 200 entries per week would provide them with more than £5,000 per year - to date the Corby Lottery has raised more than £25,000 for council grants and local good causes.

He is proposing that an external lottery manager would be used to facilitate it who would ensure it was legal, set it up and run it. The external managers would take on all financial risks, including payment of prize money, as well as insurance, administration and marketing, with no ongoing cost to the council.

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In one example model, local causes sign up to a lottery and encourage their supporters to buy tickets online. Players pay £1 per ticket per week and choose the cause they want to support. The lottery managers conduct a draw every Saturday night and notify the winners and funds are then distributed to good causes by either the council or the lottery managers.

Cllr Skinner said he understood that some people could have reservations because it has a gambling element to it - but he is hoping it will get overwhelming support from other councillors tonight.

He said: "It will be nice to have some money from this to fund things that we wouldn't otherwise be able to do."