Lottery is a form of a betting practice in which people can win monetary prizes or all kinds of goods. The practice is available in some countries, and most have specific regulations. Most of the time individuals can bet from the comfort of their homes (online), but in some cases they have to be bought in person. Tickets need to be purchased for people to become eligible and enter a drawing. From all ticket holders, one or more persons are chosen randomly as winners, and they get a specific predetermined prize.
All the cash collected from selling tickets is gathered by lottery organizers, who offer a fixed percentage to winners, and then keep the rest for themselves. The chances of winning can depend on different factors, such as the design of each lottery and the number of people who usually participate in a drawing. The more numbers participants match, the more money they can win. Many times, the prize can be split between multiple winners.
What are Charity Lotteries?
A charity lottery works in the same way as a regular lottery. You enter the raffle to win the grand prize, which can be anything, from money, to a car, a paid trip to an exotic destination, or even a house. The best thing about this type of lottery is that the money that is earned is used for charity. Even if you lose, you can have the assurance that money has been spent for a good cause.
By participating in a charity lottery, you have two advantages: you can win a prize and support a noble cause at a same time. You are supporting a good cause because all the surplus cash is sent to a charity organization. Charity lotteries can be awesome ideas, as people feel they’ve got something to gain all the wile helping someone else, and that is why we have seen a number of charities take advantage of them to raise funds for their goals.
A Win-Win Situation
Home lotteries and charity lotteries are exciting opportunities, as tickets are affordable and people always believe they will be the ones to win, so why not spend pocket money on a ticket? Participating is easy and fun, and feels just like playing a game, one that can bring the whole family together. And even if you don’t win, at least you’ve had fun with the people closest to you, and you helped someone that needed it. Not a bad tradeoff, right!
Home Charity Lottery
A good example of charity lotteries can be Mater Prize Home Lottery, which is a fundraising organization that spends all proceeds from the lottery for medical research, patient care and helping those in need. The Mater Foundation lottery gives people the chance to win a home and other awesome prizes, while all the proceeds go th either cancer research medical facility, to patients that need better care, or to the families in need.
Beware Of Scams
As always, people want to make money off of other peoples hopes and misfortune. There are many fraudulent emails circulating around the net posing as legitimate charity lotteries asking for your participation. And as the tickets are cheap, many people think – why not, and pay for a ticket in order to support a cause.
Unfortunately, the only cause they support is filling fraudsters’ pockets with money. Even some supposedlyreputable charities are not far off from using similar methods in order to secure more money for themselves.
That is why it is important to make sure a charity is legitimate. Check their website, check the feedback about the charity, and if you are from Canada or US, check Better Business Buerau for reviews on the particular charity.
Photo Credit: Flickr/Howard Lake
