Gosport’s community lottery has lift off!

A lottery scheme in Gosport has handed out its first payments to local good causes.

Just over 5,000 tickets, to date, have been bought since the launch last summer.

Council leader Mark Hook said: ‘It was an exciting occasion, when we launched a new way of supporting community organisations. The lottery is all about charities, the voluntary sector and not-for-profit organisations. I am sure that residents will want to join in and play, and that even more groups will want to sign up and benefit.’

Each ticket is £1 with 60p going to locally run charities — compared to just 28p in the pound for the National Lottery - while 20p will go to the prize fund and the rest will cover the running costs.

To date there have been 107 prize winners and one good cause that has received their payment is the Trash Café which received a total of £214. Although it has not hit the bank just yet, the upcoming payments will help the café with their plans for a new training kitchen.

Those who play also have a 50-to-one chance of winning one of the prizes ranging from as little as winning three extra tickets to as big as the jackpot of £25,000, where the chances are in fact one in a million.

To find a cause you wish to support, or one that may be as close as your front door visit www.gosportcommunitylottery.co.uk or simply phone 02393 190222.