Buying a weekly lottery ticket or two is a fantastic way to support Raise – West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals Charity – and your local NHS Trust while having the chance to win one of many great prizes.
We have put together some FAQs which should help to clarify any questions you may have.
Who is eligible to play our weekly lottery?
You need to be 18 or over to play our lottery and you must live in Great Britain. Unfortunately, we are not licensed to accept entries from Northern Ireland, The Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
Read the full terms and conditions.
How does the lottery work?
Simply enter by completing our sign up form. Each entry costs £1 per week (£4.34 monthly Direct Debit per entry) and you can play up to two entries per week for the chance to win one of our fantastic cash prizes.
Each player will receive a unique number that is entered into the weekly draw. Winners are selected by random number generator draw software and each number has an equal chance of winning up to £25,000.
Why does it cost £4.34 per month for one ticket and not £4.00?
We collect £4.34 a month to take into account that some months are four weeks long, and others are five weeks long.
Read the lottery rules here.
How much of the money I’ve paid goes to support Raise – West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals Charity?
For every £1 entry, 27% covers admin and prize costs. The remaining 73% goes towards supporting our three hospitals in Hemel Hempstead, St Albans City and Watford General, as well as our smaller sites.
I have just joined the lottery and the first direct debit has been taken, but I’m not entered into the draw until next month. Please can you explain?
Supporters are charged £4.34 per month for one weekly ticket, even though tickets are £1 each. These extra pence relate to the number of weeks in a month. For example, June (2023) has 4 draws (4 Saturdays) while July (2023) has 5 draws (5 Saturdays). If a new supporter played in June their stakes would cost £4, leaving an account credit of £0.34. Their stakes in July would cost £5 but their account balance would only be £4.68 in credit (July’s collection of £4.34 plus the existing balance of £0.34). Therefore the player would not have enough money to play and it’s illegal for us to provide them with credit.
To deal with this, we delay draw entry by one month so that enough credit can be built up. Without this delay, we could have a situation where someone’s ticket matched a prize, but they weren’t in the draw (as they hadn’t enough credit). The supporter would think that they’d won when they hadn’t been entered. Whilst this is covered in the terms and conditions, we would hate to leave supporters feeling let down.
How are prizes selected?
The draw takes place every Saturday and results are published every Saturday at 17:45 GMT on our website here. (add link)
The Winning Number for each weekly draw shall be the first six digits (in the same order) drawn using a Random Number Generator (RNG) to determine the winner(s). The RNG has been tested and approved by an independent, Gambling Commission-approved, third party test house.
How do I check if I’ve won?
A list of winners will be published every Saturday at 17:45 GMT on our website. We will notify you by phone or email within 14 days of the draw date.
Weekly lottery results and winners. (add link)
If you have won, your prize will be issued by cheque or BACS so there is no need to do a thing. Please remember to notify us of any address changes so you receive your prize without any delays. You can let us know by email: lottery@raisewestherts.org.uk or call us on: 07815 459037.
How many weekly tickets can I buy?
As part of our commitment to responsible gambling, we only allow any one person to purchase a maximum of two tickets per week.
Read more in our social responsibility guidelines. (add link)
What should I do if I want to make a complaint?
We realise that sometimes we might get it wrong and we truly value all feedback about our work. We believe that complaints are an opportunity to learn and improve and it is important that you tell us so we can deal with any situation as quickly as possible.
If you do have a complaint about our lottery, please do not hesitate to contact us at lottery@raisewestherts.org.uk or call us on 07815 459037.
I was approached by a fundraiser who wanted me to sign up to play the lottery. Is this legitimate?
We have fundraisers working on our behalf who help sign people up for the lottery. They always wear branded ID badges.
If you would like to check the legitimacy of a Raise Charity lottery fundraiser, you can contact us at lottery@raisewestherts.org.uk or call us on 07815 459037.
My circumstances have changed – how do I cancel?
If you no longer want to play the lottery, you can cancel the Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. Written confirmation may also be required. Please also notify us at lottery@raisewestherts.org.uk or call us on 07815 459037.
What should I do if I think I have a problem with gambling?
GambleAware is the UK’s leading authority on the provision of support, advice and counseling to people affected by gambling problems. If you or someone you know needs help or advice visit begambleaware.org or gamcare.org.uk or call GambleAware’s helpline on 0808 8020 133.
If you have entered into the lottery and would like to self-exclude yourself from future draws, please complete our online self-exclusion form or contact us at lottery@raisewestherts.org.uk or call us on 07815 459037.