Independent retailers have hit a £10bn milestone in money raised for good causes through National Lottery ticket and scratchcard sales, new data by Allwyn UK shows.
It marks a sum raised by 22,000 independent retailers since the National Lottery launched in the UK in 1994, with 23p of every pound spent going to good causes.
Of the retailers involved, 1,623 stores have raised more than £500,000, 469 have raised more than £1m, and 28 have broken the £2m mark. Two stores have each raised more than £3m for good causes.
The funds have supported more than 680,000 projects across arts, community, heritage and sports since the National Lottery’s UK inception.
Three such retailers, located in Kent, Wales and West Yorkshire, have been recognised as part of Allwyn’s ‘Local Retail Champions’ initiative, each receiving a visit from a “famous face” that has benefited from National Lottery funding.
These include Monty Dipoti, owner of Todmorden News in West Yorkshire, who has raised more than £2.3m for good causes since taking over the shop 16 years ago. He was visited by Yorkshire local Nicola Adams, the first female boxer to become an Olympic champion after winning gold at London 2012 who was supported throughout her career with National Lottery funding.
Together they visited the Northern Powerhouse Boxing Academy, the UK’s first women-led boxing club, which received £250,000 of Lottery funding between 2018 and 2025 that helped to restore a flood-damaged community building that had stood empty for 10 years.
Owner of Premier Grand Avenue Stores in Cardiff Kuljit Athwal, who has raised more than £1m for good causes, was visited by presenter and actress Joanna Page.
Together they visited Ministry of Life Education, a National Lottery-funded education and outreach provider that supports young people who are disengaged from mainstream education and are at risk of not being in employment, education, or training.
It has received £568,000 of National Lottery funding to provide personalised learning that helps young people build confidence, develop practical skills and gain accredited qualifications.
Steve Weight, who runs Borough Green Stores in Kent, has raised more than £1.4m for good causes over 32 years. He was visited by Matt Weston, double Olympic gold medal skeleton racer at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, who benefited from funding through UK Sport’s Elite Athletes programme.
A further six stores, located in Bristol, Manchester, Belfast, Glasgow, Ilkeston and Gateshead, will feature in a secondary phase of the campaign, Allwyn added.
“Most people in the UK live within half a mile of a Lottery-funded good cause project, in no small part due to the extraordinary efforts of independent retailers who sell National Lottery tickets,” said Allwyn UK chief impact officer Alastair Ruxton.
“The remarkable £10bn local retailers have raised for good causes around the country has helped train Olympic and Paralympic athletes, fund award-winning British films and our world-renowned brilliant museums and galleries, as well as supporting thousands of vital community, education and heritage projects.”
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