RSPCA under pressure to explain why 74% of the money raised from its weekly lottery goes on expenses

• The RSPCA has published its 2022 earnings from its various lotteries  

The RSPCA faces questions over how it spends the proceeds from its lotteries after it revealed more than 74 percent of money raised is spent on administration and expenses.

Twenty percent of proceeds help fund the vital work of the charity, the minimum amount set by the Gambling Commission, and the remainder goes towards prizes.

The RSPCA raised £3,335,704 through its various lotteries in 2022, meaning about £2.5mn was spent on expenses, as reported by The Sunday Telegraph.

The charity runs a weekly £1-entry lottery offering a jackpot of £1,000, and up to £10,000 in quarterly ‘superdraws’. 

According to the RSPCA’s website: ‘In 2022 £3,335,704 was raised from ticket sales in our Weekly Lotteries, Quarterly Superdraws and seasonal Raffles, with 5.77% spent on prizes, 74.16% spent on expenses and 20.07% being used to fund the work of the RSPCA in England and Wales.’

The figures were ‘based on the Lottery Submissions made by the RSPCA to the Gambling Commission, during the 2022 calendar year’. 

‘This translated to a fantastic £669,669.24!’ 

The Gambling Commission states that ‘the level of expenses and prizes allocated from the proceeds must not be such as to reduce the profits to below 20%’.

That means at least 20 per cent must be ‘applied to its purposes’ – going towards the running of the charity. 

It says that proceeds can otherwise only be used to go towards prizes or to pay expenses ‘reasonably incurred’ organising the lottery.

This can include the salaries of those running it, the cost of selling or supplying tickets, printing and distributing tickets, marketing, or paying any fee to an external lottery manager.

As reported in The Telegraph, Anne Kasica, founder of The SHG help group for people experiencing issues with the charity, said: ‘[If] the RSPCA is unable to match the prudence and financial competence of other charities, it is no wonder that they are always claiming to be in crisis and desperate for money. 

‘Perhaps it is time for the Charity Commission to take a much closer look at the RSPCA’s financial [proficiency].’

An RSPCA spokesperson said: ‘We aim to keep expenses as low as possible. 

‘We regularly review where savings can be made and will explore if costs can be reduced further without impacting the vital funds raised and remaining compliant with the strict Gambling Commission guidelines.’

The RSPCA lottery offers weekly prizes of £1,000, £250, £150, £100, £50 and runner up prizes of £10.

Superdraws offer larger prizes of £5,000 in spring, £10,000 in summer, £5,000 in autumn and £2,000 plus a hamper in winter. 

Lottery players had a 1 in 568 chance of winning in the RSPCA’s regular Weekly Lotteries in 2022. 

For help with gambling, visit https://www.begambleaware.org/ or call the Gamcare National Helpline on 0808 8020 133