About The Health Lottery
Contrary to what some may perceive, The Health Lottery is not a national lottery. It is made up of a group of local UK lottery societies – each one licensed by the Gambling Commission – that have come together to support health-related causes. They take turns participating in the draws so that every area they represent gets a fair share of the proceeds. Since their launch in 2011, they have raised over £100 million in support of health-related causes.1 Lottery Game Offered
Regular Lottery Game
If you were hoping to play in some of the biggest and most lucrative lotteries around – like US Powerball or Mega Millions – then this isn't the site for you.
The Health Lottery only has its one lottery game on offer, which costs £1 per entry and offers a guaranteed jackpot of £25,000 (up to a maximum of 10% of total ticket sales). Each play also enters you into the monthly raffle for £250,000.
Also worth mentioning is that for 20 pence of every £1 spent on their site goes to local health-related causes.
Syndicate
Surprisingly, The Health Lottery offers a group play option for its lottery game.
Unfortunately, unlike other lottery sites where all you’d need to do is choose how many shares you want to purchase, you need to set up almost everything here by yourself. Basically, you become a syndicate manager. Here’s how it works, in a nutshell:
- First, you need to download an agreement form.
- Then, you need to pick your team. It can be anyone – be it family, friends, or colleagues. Your choice.
- Pick your numbers and decide on how many draws.
- Have everyone in your team, including yourself, sign the agreement form.
- Submit your entry.
You can also get a syndicate pack if you want more help in getting started. On top of all the need-to-know information about their syndicate play, the pack also contains a poster to aid you in recruiting members to your syndicate, some playcards, and – amusingly – a fridge magnet.
Instant Win Games
Beyond their singular lottery game, The Health Lottery also provides interactive, instant win games.
These are small video games that you can play to win some real money. Each game has a different theme, a different goal, and different cash prizes.
Deposit and Withdrawal with The Health Lottery
It’s not immediately clear what banking methods The Health Lottery accepts.
From rummaging through their website, what’s apparent is that they accept bank transfers and debit cards. But, exactly what banks or debit cards (or even credit, if any) are accepted aren’t really discussed.
Perhaps registered members can see the options available, but since I don’t have a Great Britain address nor a Great Britain bank account, it’s difficult for me to confirm that. In any case, information like this should be displayed upfront so interested players can immediately see if the payment method they use regularly is accepted or not.
Is The Health Lottery Safe?
The Health Lottery may have tons of limitations, but they are at least a safe and legitimate lottery site.
For starters, they employ Starfield Class 2 SSL to ensure that data going to and from their site are encrypted.
Beyond that, they are also licensed and regulated by the UK’s Gambling Commission. This alone tells you that they abide by the strictest of gaming standards, so you don’t have to worry about it being a scam.
The Health Lottery’s Customer Service
The Health Lottery’s FAQ is pretty meaty, though their contact options are a bit limited.
For the most part, their FAQ manages to go through nearly all aspects of their service in detail (save from their accepted payment methods).
However, if you run into a problem that self-help measures cannot solve, you can only get in touch with The Health Lottery via phone or email. There’s no live chat option and their agents are only available during regular UK business hours.
The Health Lottery’s Additional Features
Lottery Education Materials
The Health Lottery manages to provide adequate education about its lottery game.
You can find a lot of information about their game, their raffles, and other aspects of their service peppered throughout their entire website. Honestly, I would be surprised if they botched this up, seeing as how they only have one lottery game to educate players about. That said, there doesn’t seem to be a glossary section – though it’s not really needed here.
Ease of Use
The Health Lottery’s site is pretty straight forward and easy to use.
On top of its user-friendliness, The Health Lottery’s site is clean and the aesthetic they went with is quite lively. I liked its use of different colors and images – making it seem more “fun” than other lottery sites. There’s nothing new about it though – if you’ve used a lottery site before, this should feel familiar in no time.
Promotions
Another thing that surprised me was that The Health Lottery offers a bunch of promotions.
More than that, the promotions they offer are pretty varied – and don’t feel like run-of-the-mill lottery discounts or freebies (though there are promos like that as well). For instance, they are currently running a promo that requires you to share a selfie holding your The Health Lottery ticket for the chance to win a brand new iPad Pro. They also run special raffles wherein lucky online players can win cash prizes, vouchers, gadgets and more.
How The Health Lottery Works
Setting Up an Account
Creating a free The Health Lottery account requires a bit more information from your end, but it is still quite easy.
Here’s how:
- Click on the “Register” button located at the top right corner of The Health Lottery’s website.
- Fill up the registration form. Provide the following details: email address, password, first and last names, date of birth, postcode/address, and phone number.
- Confirm that you have read their Terms and Conditions.
- Decide whether you want to receive exclusive promotions and offers via email.
- Click on the blue “Register” button.
- Start playing!
Pretty easy, right?
But if you aren’t a resident of Great Britain (or England, Scotland or Wales), the website will know and prevent you from ever reaching the sign-up page.
Playing
Since The Health Lottery only has one lotto game on tap, you don’t have to keep up with various game rules. It’s easy, too.
Here’s how:
- Log in to your The Health Lottery account.
- Click on the “Play” link on the navigation menu.
- Decide how many lines you want to play.
- For each line, choose five numbers from a pool of 1 to 50. You can also have your numbers automatically chosen for you via the Quick Pick option.
- Decide whether you which draws you want to participate in.
- Decide if you want to play continuously. You can choose to do so up to 8 weeks.
- Add a promo code if you have one.
- Click on the orange “Play Now” button.
- Wait to see if you win!
Winning
Winning and claiming prizes works just like any other lottery site – though there are some variances when it comes to the latter.
During drawing, 5 numbers plus a bonus ball will be drawn. Results will be broadcast very Tuesday to Saturday. Much like most lotteries, your prize depends on how many balls match the numbers you have chosen. 5 balls, for instance, will net you the jackpot. The fewer balls you match, the smaller the prizes become.
If you win, The Health Lottery will contact you via email. Meanwhile, if you win a large prize (or the jackpot), you will have to call The Health Lottery yourself so they can help you make arrangements for collecting your prize. Depending on where or how you bought your ticket/s, there are also different mechanics that you need to keep in mind when claiming your winnings:
- Online Players & Direct Debit Players: If you win less than £2,000, The Health Lottery will transfer your prize into your account. But, if you win £2,000 or more, you will have to call them so their team can guide on what to do next.
- Retail Players: If you purchased your tickets from one of The Health Lottery’s retailers, you can claim winnings of up to £50 from them. However, for prizes up to £250, you would have to claim your prizes from a participating Post Office. Finally, if you’ve won more than £250, you need to call The Health Lottery so they can assist you and provide further guidance.
The Bottom Line – Should You Use The Health Lottery?
It's really more of a question of “Should you support The Health Lottery?”
The Health Lottery has a few things going for it, but it’s far too limiting a lottery site to be an instant recommend. Sure, if you fit their player requirements, it’s not a bad idea to give it a look – especially since every purchase helps fuel a good cause. It also doesn't hurt that their site is easy to use, secure, and fun to play in. The promotions they regularly run are an added bonus.
If you're from the UK and believe in the good that they're doing, then by all means, participate in their games.