Sports Lottery RAF – What Is It?
While the first thought one might have about a military organisation involves planes and bombs, the RAF also runs a lottery. It has been around for a while, established in the distant 1993 as a means of generating additional revenue for the air forces. The Sports Lottery is an initiative of the RAF Central Fund. This institution dates back to the early 1920s, and it has evolved much over the years. In the past, its goal was to support RAF personnel from disbanded units. Over time, its scope increased to provide other worthwhile benefits to serving men and women.
In 2021, the purpose of the Lottery hasn’t changed, and it contributes to the budget of the RAF. Specifically, the profits from the lotto are used to create sports programmes for serving RAF members. It is similar to the Veterans’ Lottery in the UK – assisting military personnel.
Unlike other lotteries available in the UK, the Sports Lottery is only available to current and former RAF members. This makes it different from other UK online lotto sites, where everyone can sign up and purchase tickets. Another key difference is that while traditional lotteries are run for profit, the RAF Sports Lottery UK is designed to support RAF personnel. It is a charitable initiative at its core, and participation in the lotto actively benefits air forces members.
The RAF Sports Lottery is run for the benefit of the air forces, but it is managed by Sterling Lotteries. It is a private company that specialised in the organisation of lotteries, raffles, and other casual gaming activities. The whole operation is overseen by the UK Gambling Commission and holds a gambling licence with number 5199. Sterling Lotteries is licenced in its own right, regulated under account number 3137. This makes the lottery fair and trustworthy for all involved.
RAF Sports Lottery – How it Works
When compared to other lotteries, this one is relatively straightforward. To purchase tickets for the Sports Lottery, RAF personnel simply have to go on the online lotto site and buy them. Tickets cost £1 each, and a person can buy up to six every week. The numbers on the tickets are randomly generated – you cannot pick your own – and sent to you via email. Participants in the lottery have to be at least 16 years old to purchase a ticket.
In order to prevent underage gambling and non-RAF individuals from taking part, you will have to submit a decent chunk of personal information before signing up. This includes your name, serving status, rank, MOD email address, and more. It is a relatively quick process that you will have to do only once. Payments are made over the Internet on a subscription basis. You get to choose how many tickets you wish to buy and select the payment frequency. Depending on your preference, you can get billed monthly, quarterly, half annually, or annually.
RAF Sports Lottery Odds and Prizes
The Sports Lottery RAF members participate in is also straightforward in its reward structure. It is worth pointing out is that on 1 September 2020, the prizes were altered so that more individuals would have a higher chance at winning something. All tickets are eligible for a single prize per week per draw. Depending on your luck, you stand to win one of the following prizes every week:
| 🏆 Prizes | Cash Reward |
|---|---|
| 🥇First Prize | £10,000 |
| 🥈Second Prize | £3000 |
| 🥉Third Prize | £2000 |
| 🏅Fourth Prize | £1000 |
| 🎖 Fifth Prize | £500 |
| 💰 Other Prizes | £100 |
If you happen to hold one of the lucky tickets, the system will alert you via email. All lottery payments are made via bank transfer, providing you with a quick and easy solution to cashing out your winnings. The names of the winners are published after every draw on the RAF Sports Lottery website, though you won’t find any lotto millionaire stories there.
Lottery Odds
As far as the RAF Sports Lottery online odds are concerned, the Fund has not published extensive information on the matter. Due to the streamlined nature of the draw and the fact that every ticket has a chance at any of the prizes, it stands to reason that the odds of winning are the same for each award. According to Central Fund, the average odds of winning a prize from the lottery in 2020 was 1 in 56,090. Compared the chances of winning at standard lottery games, these are pretty favourable odds, though one also has to take into account the potential prizes.
Where the Money Goes
As mentioned previously, the Sports Lottery RAF is a charitable enterprise. Therefore, most of the money is donated to sports programmes for air forces personnel. According to Central Fund information, 51% of the turnover went towards the various programmes. The remaining 49% was spent covering the costs of running the operation. Namely, 45% of the proceeds are paid out in rewards, while 4% is reserved for operational costs. In 2019, the lottery brought in £2,881,682. This makes it a relatively small venture, relatively to commercial draw games.
The money generated from the lottery goes into a variety of different activities. In the annual report for 2020, the Central Fund states that it funds about 50 kinds of sports. Moreover, more than 13,500 eligible members are reported to be participating in funded activities. Among the most popular sports, the Central Fund names the following:
| 🏐 Sport Type | Percentage of Personnel Enrolled |
|---|---|
| 🚲 Cycling | 13% |
| 🎿 Winter Sports | 12% |
| ⚽ Football | 8% |
| 🏍 Motorsports | 8% |
All in all, RAF personnel seem pleased with the initiative and report satisfaction with the available programmes. 88% of men and 90% of women in the RAF state that sports activities keep them serving in the RAF. Of course, not every member takes part in the funded programmes, but most do. Still, the Royal Air Force looks to find new ways to encourage personnel to take part.
Popular Questions
If you still have questions on the subject, please have a look at the FAQ below. We have gone out of our way to gather the most crucial questions about the RAF Sports Lottery and its effect on serving personnel.