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After a slow start to sales, it seems like the growing jackpot in the Channel Islands Christmas Lottery is starting to gain momentum.
With tickets costing £3 this year, some people have said they are buying fewer, and it had looked like the top prize might not make the much-promoted million pound mark.
Last month, it was confirmed that ticket sales were down year on year, but since then retailers and independent lottery agents have seen an increase in sales with the States now saying the top prize will be at least £825,000.
“Sales are picking up at a pace as we near the draw date, with so many more prizes now included in both the draw and instant game within the 2018 Christmas lottery, the first prize was always going to rise slower than in previous years but we’re now seeing it reach the anticipated £1million mark,” said lottery agent Lorraine Ellis.
The organisers will still be hoping to top last year's climbing jackpot which eventually reached £1,008,410 before the winning numbers were drawn just before Christmas, 2017.
In 2016, the top prize was even higher at £1,120,220. In 2015 it was £1,161,750 and in 2014 it had been the highest ever at £1.22m indicating a very slow downward trend.
Pictured: The 2017 ticket promised a jackpot of at least £300,000, eventually rising to £1,008,410.
The jackpot in 2013 had been £1,038,000, won by someone in Jersey, while the last time the pan island jackpot was below a million pounds was in 2012, when the £686,000 first prize was claimed by an anonymous winner in Jersey. That was the lowest the prize pot had been in some years, with the 2011 top prize being £751, 500 which was a record at the time. The ticket price then went up to £2 each and the jackpot climbed to over a million pounds.
Pictured: The Association of Guernsey Charities receives all of the profits from tickets sales from the Channel Islands Christmas Lottery once prizes have been allocated, before distributing grants among its members.
In 2018 the decision was made to put the price up again, this time to £3 for a Christmas Lottery ticket, giving more chances to win, with more prizes available. The organisers said the changes were made based on previous public feedback.
In total the prize fund for the 2018 Lottery is said to be larger than in previous years, starting at £3.3million, with the overall prize fund growing as well as the jackpot until the draw on Thursday 20 December, in just over two weeks time.
Malcolm Woodhams, the Chairman of the Association of Guernsey Charities said, “Each year the Christmas Lottery raises large amounts of money to help local projects and good causes. We know that Channel Island charities are extremely grateful to everyone who supports the Christmas game.
“The proceeds from tickets sold in Guernsey for last year’s lottery enabled us to distribute over £194,000 to different local charities – each of which is using their grant to help provide much needed services and facilities to the island. With two weeks until this year’s draw it’sclear that, once again, the Christmas Lottery is proving extremely popular, with many people buying tickets in the hope of winning some life changing amounts of cash in time for Christmas. At the same time, every ticket sold is going to help us provide funding to a widerange of local organisations.”
Local charities are reminded that they can now start applying to receive a grant from thisyear’s proceeds. The process, which is run by the Association of Guernsey Charities, has benefitted more than 80 organisations over the past 5 years.
Information on applying for lottery grants are available at charity.org.gg.
Pictured top: A 2018 Christmas Lottery ticket.
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