Should National Lottery Be Abolished Essay

Since its launch in October 2013, the National Lottery’s sales have rocketed, but is this a cause for celebration or a cause for concern? For decades the lottery has brought hopes to millions, yet critics would have us believe that it is no more than a waste of money. Are they right?

One of the main arguments put forward in favour of the lottery is the fact it is excellent for charity. Of the £7,277.8 million raised from total ticket sales in the year ending 31 March 2015, £1796.8 million went towards National Lottery projects. The lottery ensures that a substantial portion of this is dedicated towards charitable causes. Big charities, such as Barnardo's, often see the benefit of lottery funding. However, the lottery’s support isn’t exclusive to well-known organisations, it also delivers funding to smaller, local charities. For example, the lottery offered funding to FareShare, an independent charity whose ambition is to provide food for families who find it difficult to afford it themselves. Additionally, the lottery has

In Scotland and England there are around 280,000 problem gamblers, with another two million citizens categorised as ‘at risk’. Research shows that men are more likely to be problem gamblers than women, and people on low income, with mental or physical health issues, or of black or Asian ethnicity are most at risk. Evidence against this claim however, may lie in the findings of the Gambling Commission, which discovered only 0.7% of male problem gambler rely on lotteries and scratch cards as their main type of gambling. The National Lottery is a very mild form of gambling, and is much less harmfully addictive as the odds of winning are improbable. Therefore the lottery doesn’t provide the little, frequent wins to make a gambler believe they are on a winning streak. Surely the lottery shouldn’t be discouraged for the majority of the public who want to enjoy it