Frequently Asked Questions

See below for the most frequently asked questions about the Sue Ryder Lottery.

What is the Sue Ryder Lottery?

The Sue Ryder Lottery is a draw which takes place every Friday. Each ticket gives you the chance of winning one of over 300 fantastic cash prizes. Each entry costs just £1.

Why is Sue Ryder running a weekly lottery?

A lottery is a fun and engaging way for us to raise funds. The lottery is promoted and run to help raise essential funds for Sue Ryder. The Lottery is run and managed by Sue Ryder Lottery Limited, 100% of the profits from the lottery go to the charity Sue Ryder.

Can you guarantee the lottery is fair?

Yes, every £1 entry has an equal chance of winning, and the winning numbers are drawn at random.

How are prizes drawn and what are the odds of winning?

Results for our lottery are drawn every Friday using a random number generator, allocating one prize for each lucky number drawn. Prizes distributed to the winners by means of Cheque or Prize Entry letter for subscribed players. For players who buy tickets in our charity shops, prizes up to £10 can be claimed in cash, with higher prizes claimed by cheque.

Whilst the odds of winning a prize fluctuate depending on the number of players in our draw, for the draw dated 05/01/2024 players had a 1 in 170 chance of winning a prize in the weekly lottery draw.

How are the lottery proceeds used?

In 2023 Sue Ryder received £2,843,967 in lottery sales. After paying out prize money and running costs, Sue Ryder received £2,428,769.70 (85.4%) in donations from every £1 ticket in our lottery, 5.38% was spent on prizes and 9.22% on expenses.

How old do I have to be to enter?

You must be aged 18 or over to enter the lottery. No prizes will be paid to anyone found to be under the age of 18.

What prizes can I win?

Every week you have the chance to win one of our guaranteed cash prizes of:

  • 1st Prize: £1,000
  • 2nd Prize: £100
  • 3rd Prize: £50
  • 4th Prize: £10 (10 to be won)
  • 5th Prize: 5 Prize Entries into the next lottery draw or £5 cash* (300 to be won)

You also have the chance to win £10,000 in our annual Super Draws.

* Subscribed players will receive 5 prize entries if selected as a winner and shop bought Lucky Dip tickets will win £5 cash which must be claimed in a Sue Ryder shop. Subscribed players can opt to win cash by contacting us here

What is a Prize Entry?

A prize entry is a prize where subscribed players win entries to another lottery draw instead of a cash prize.

Players told us that they didn’t like making a special trip to the bank to cash a £5 cheque, so we now offer 5 Prize entries instead of £5 cash. However players can opt to receive cash if they wish by contacting us.

What if I’ve lost my Lucky Dip ticket I bought in a shop?

Please use the contact form here to tell us the location of the shop you bought the ticket in, the date you bought it and the rough time. The more information we have, the more chance we have of finding out what your lottery number was and if it was a winner.

When are the Super Draws?

We hold two Super Draws a year and we’ll write to you to let you know when these special draws will be. We’ll even send you some extra tickets in case you want to buy some more chances. However, your existing lottery number will automatically be entered for a chance to win the top prize along with our other weekly prizes.

How do I buy tickets?

You can buy tickets through our website by setting up a lottery subscription, which is the easiest way to ensure you’re entered into the draw each week.

Alternatively, you can telephone us on 03700 585 906 and we would be happy to send you an entry form.

Why is the price £4.34 per month when paying Direct Debit?

The monthly cost breakdown of £4.34 for playing the lottery is based on paying £1 per week over a 52 week year.

Direct debits are only collected once a month, and sometimes there will be five weeks in a month and so the additional £0.34 is to build up the required credit to cover the fifth week in these five-week months.

Can I have more than 1 entry?

Yes, you can have up to 20 entries per weekly lottery draw.

In accordance with our commitment to responsible gambling, we offer a maximum of 20 entries each week per person. However, we would not suggest that any one person takes more than 5 numbers per week on a regular basis.

If playing our lottery stops becoming fun and you wish to exclude yourself from all gaming activity, please contact us.

Are my entries eligible for Gift Aid?

Unfortunately, we cannot claim Gift Aid on funds raised through the lottery.

Can I choose my lottery numbers?

These are chosen randomly and will be your numbers for the duration of your membership of our lottery. When you enter the lottery, you will be sent a letter outlining your unique numbers and your payment details.

How do I know that I’m in the draw?

Within 21 days of registration you will receive a confirmation letter which contains details of your unique lottery number(s) and the date of the first draw your tickets are entered into. You will be entered into the draw when you have monies available and you will continue to be entered into the draw as long as you have monies available against your lottery number.

Why is there a delay between registration and entry into the draw?

When playing with Direct Debit, following registration it is necessary to complete a number of administrative processes which include verifying your payment details with your bank, claiming the funds from your bank account and the funds being received.

Why am I sent to another website when making a payment?

When taking payments, Sue Ryder use a secure payments system provided by our External Lottery Manager. This ensures your details are taken in a safe and secure manner when you enter the lottery online.

What happens if I lose connection to the internet while entering?

We advise to call our helpline on 03700 585 906 and we will be able to assist you and confirm whether or not a payment was taken successfully.

How long can I play for?

You can play our lottery for as long as you wish. Following successful payment you will continue to be entered into the draw as long as you have monies available against your number.

How will I know if I win a prize?

Once the draw has taken place, winners are notified by post, and the winners’ names and numbers are published on our website. People who buy tickets in a Sue Ryder shop can also check their tickets in any participating Sue Ryder shop.

How do I claim my prize?

If you are a subscribed lottery player and are a winner, we will send your winning cheque straight to you at your address – there’s no need for you to claim. 

People who have bought their tickets in a Sue Ryder shop must claim prizes of £10 and under in cash at any Sue Ryder shop. Prizes over £10 can be claimed by completing a claim form and sending us their winning ticket for validation. Claim forms must be accompanied by the valid winning ticket to receive a prize.

I have lost my lottery numbers, what should I do?

If you would like us to re-send your lottery numbers to you, please call us on 03700 585 906 or fill out our contact form here.

How do I cancel my subscription?

You can cancel your membership by calling the Lottery Helpline on 03700 585 906 or using our contact form and we will advise you further.

What are the lottery rules?

The lottery rules are available on our website. The purpose of these rules is to ensure you are informed about the terms of playing our lottery, and to promote responsible gambling. Click here to visit our lottery rules page.

What is responsible gambling?

Responsible gambling means staying in control of how much time and money we spend on gambling. Responsible gambling means not spending more money or time than we can reasonably afford on gambling activities, keeping in mind all our other responsibilities in life.

I need some advice on the effects of gambling, can you help?

To speak to someone about a gambling problem contact the Gamble Aware confidential helpline on 0808 8020 133 or visit their website www.begambleaware.org for further information.

Is the lottery legal?

Yes, we operate in compliance with all Gambling Commission (the UK regulatory body concerned with lotteries) requirements and the lottery is administered by a certified External Lottery Manager. For further information please see our rules page.

How much of my £1 lottery entry goes to the charity?

In 2020 Sue Ryder received £1,754,817 (85.23%) in donations from every £1 ticket in our lottery.

Someone called me on the phone, how do I know they were genuine?

We do use a team to call people on the phone. We only call people who have donated to us in the past or people how have specifically requested a call about the lottery. The telephone number they call from is: 01787 275 508.

If you call the number back, you will hear an answer machine message. However to check the validity of the callers identity you should call our own Supporter Care team on 0207 554 5985.

Someone knocked at my door claiming they're from Sue Ryder. Were they genuine?

We do have representatives door to door canvassing for our care centres and throughout other areas of the country. All canvassers will be wearing Sue Ryder branded clothes, have an ID badge. The canvassers will also not take any cash donations.

I don’t agree with door to door canvassing, why do you use such methods?

Door to door canvassing is one of the most cost efficient ways for a charity to gets its message out to supporters and to sign up new players.

In the case of Sue Ryder and our Lottery, we employ a 3rd-party company to work for us and only pay them a commission if they successfully sign somebody up to our lottery. This means that we only pay for positive results, rather than expensive advertising campaigns where you have no guarantee you will get any new support.

We also have guarantees in our contract about the length of time a supporter will play our lottery to ensure we get the best value for money possible.

How can I give you feedback on the lottery?

If you have any concerns, please call us on 020 7554 5985, email us at supportercare@sueryder.org or contact us through our contact form and we will endeavour to answer any queries you may have.

Who do I contact if I have any further questions

For questions about the lottery or your lottery membership, please call our Lottery Helpline: 03700 585 906 (Mon – Fri 9am – 5pm) Alternatively, please fill in our contact form.

Or if you wish to speak to someone about Sue Ryder or our canvassing activity please contact us on 020 7554 5985 or email us at supportercare@sueryder.org

Guaranteed weekly prizes& bi-annual Super Draws

Plus over 300 other weekly prizes

Play now
© Sue Ryder - A charity registered in England and Wales (1052076) and in Scotland (SC039578). Company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (943228). Contact address: Sue Ryder, 183 Eversholt Street, London, NW1 1BU; Lottery helpline 0370 058 5906; or email info@sueryder.org
Responsible Person(s): Mr Kevin Andrew Richmond & Mr Martin Michael Wildsmith, Sue Ryder Lottery Limited, First Floor Kings House, King Street, Sudbury, CO10 2ED
Players must be 18 and over – Tickets cost £1 each. Sue Ryder Lottery Limited is licensed and regulated in Great Britain by the Gambling Commission under account number 42085.
This website is provided by our External Lottery Manager, Sterling Management Centre Limited. Sterling Management Centre Limited are licensed and regulated in Great Britain by the Gambling Commission under account number 3137.
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