The lottery operators that manage the Euromillions draw in the countries that participate in the draw, allocate funds from lotteries, including the Euromillions draw itself, to finance causes dedicated to social problems, sport, culture, education and the environment, among others.
In this way, the draw has a programme called Euromillions Good Causes, with the following actions differentiated by country:
Spain
In Spain, the Sociedad Estatal de Loterías y Apuestas del Estado (SELAE) donates its profits to a number of causes dedicated to solving social problems, sport, culture, education and the environment. SELAE’s commitment to society consists of supporting initiatives that give back to society what it receives.
Thus, SELAE has agreements with the Spanish Red Cross, the Spanish Association Against Cancer, the Olympic Sports Association and the San Ildefonso Primary School.
SELAE collaborates with the Spanish Red Cross to improve the welfare of those who need it most (the elderly, children, young people and immigrants). SELAE’s economic contribution to the Red Cross is approximately 15 million euros per year.
SELAE has an agreement with the Spanish Association Against Cancer whose objective is to ‘reduce the impact, reduce the pain’ and support information, awareness and research work against the disease. The impact of SELAE’s economic contribution to AECC is worth approximately 3 million euros per year.
SELAE’s contribution to sport consists of a constant commitment to the world of sport, promoting the practice of sport by supporting various programmes and federations such as:
- ADO Rio 2016 Programme
- Mountain Biking Support Programme
- Royal Order of Sporting Merit
- Royal Spanish Canoeing Federation
- Handball
- Athletics
- Swimming
- Cycling
- Integration of people with disabilities.
SELAE also supports culture and education through various collaboration agreements with different entities.
In addition, SELAE is committed to minimising the effects of climate change by focusing on energy efficiency, reducing CO2 emissions and efficiently managing resources.
United Kingdom
United Kingdom allocates 28% of national lottery revenues, including the EuroMillions game, to good causes. To this amount must also be added the amount of unclaimed prizes. The lottery games are run by Camelot UK Lotteries Limited, which manages the lottery games and the management of the proceeds, including EuroMillions.
Each week, National Lottery players raise over £30 million for good causes across the UK, supporting hundreds of fun things like Bletchley Park, London Zoo, the Eden Project, the Roald Dahl Museum, the Tower of London, Cardiff Castle and more.
The total funds raised are distributed, by various bodies covering four main categories: Sport and the Arts, Heritage and Health Education, Environment and Charitable Causes.
Austria
Österreichische Lotterien, which runs Euromillions in Austria, has been sponsoring projects called good causes under the motto ‘good for Austria’ since its inception in 1986. The funds are earmarked for social, cultural and sporting projects.
In the social field, humanitarian and research projects have benefited, as well as projects to help protect pandas, lynxes and griffon vultures.
In the cultural field, the organisation is involved in digitisation and research projects at the Austrian National Library as well as various exhibitions and funding of artistic awards.
In the field of sports, the Austrian Olympic and Paralympic committees have been supported by funds raised through lottery games in Austria. 80 million per year makes Lotteries Austria the most important financier of sport in Austria. Beneficiaries include ASKÖ, ASVÖ, UNION, the Austrian Football Association, the Austrian Olympic Committee as well as numerous professional associations ranging from American football to water polo.
Belgium
Every year, the Belgian National Lottery allocates a significant amount from the sales of Euromillions and other games to support public and private organisations committed to culture, sport, research and development and the fight against poverty, especially child poverty.
Among the humanitarian projects that they support, we can highlight the support to the association of blind and handicapped people, the support to the Belgian Children’s Fund for Paediatric research, or the support to the Ligue Braille.
In total, each year the Belgian lottery organisation allocates approximately 185 million euros for public and private service subsidies, divided between 61.95% for humanitarian and social projects, 27.44% for community donations, 6.5% for culture, 2.92% for sport and 1.19% for scientific research.
France
In France, Française des Jeux, the French National Lottery, was created in 1976 and has among its objectives to help promote equal opportunities in education, sport and social integration.
To realise its objective, the organisation is committed to the development of athletes through sponsorship programmes, providing social support through sport and helping people with disabilities to access sport.
In the fields of education and integration, FDJ supports social integration projects whose pedagogy is based on play, collaboration or recreation, promoting equal opportunities and aimed at vulnerable groups.
Thus, in the field of education, the French organisation supports fun and educational, innovative and inclusive methods to help young people in difficulty to learn and reveal their potential.
In the field of integration, through playful and participatory programmes, the organisation aims to motivate young people and adults in difficulty, helping them to find their place in society and express their talents.
Ireland
Since the inception of the Irish National Lottery in 1987, over €5 billion has been raised for good causes and approximately 30% of the funds generated by games such as EuroMillions are donated to charitable projects related to health, youth, sport, the arts, heritage and the Irish language.
From every euro played, Premier Lotteries Ireland, gives 30 cents to local initiatives and larger organisations such as the Crocus Centre for people with cancer, the Dyslexia Association and the Asthma Society.
Luxembourg
La Nationale Grande-Duchesse Charlotte is responsible for distributing the grants on behalf of the Loterie Nationale. The net profit from all lottery games in Luxembourg, including Euromillions funds, are donated to good causes in the fields of health, sport, culture, social issues and the environment.
To date, the lottery organisation has, through the Charlotte company, donated almost EUR 220 million. The beneficiaries have been associations such as the Luxembourg Red Cross and the National Cultural Fund.
Portugal
The Portuguese Gaming Department operates lotteries in Portugal, including Euromillions, and donates most of the net revenue to government departments that distribute the funds in the areas of health, sport, culture and social affairs.
Of the money going to beneficiaries in Portugal and its islands, 28% goes to the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, a charity set up in the 15th century that runs hospitals and other health centres, as well as supporting a wide range of other projects to support the elderly, children and young people in need, and people with disabilities or victims of violence.
They also support the promotion and improvement of culture, education and sports activities and the fight against addictions.
Switzerland
There are two official lottery operators in Switzerland: Swisslos and Loterie Romande. The net profits made by these two gaming operators are used for public benefit projects, including projects for the prevention of gambling addiction.
The operator Swisslos focuses on the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland and Ticino in sectors such as culture, sport, social issues and the environment. It also supports national sports programmes such as the Olympic team and youth development in football.
Loterie Romande supports good causes in the French-speaking cantons, benefiting the areas of sport, social action, education, health, culture, research, heritage, environment and tourism.
In short, in the 9 countries participating in Euromillions, sales from the lottery draw translate to a greater or lesser extent into taxes and funds for the states of each country. These funds allow these states to materialise humanitarian, social, cultural, sporting and environmental projects among others, which means that the money spent by the players is destined to good causes, and in turn, the player sometimes wins and sometimes loses, but in any case gains in experience and experience is a resource that is not easy to win.
