The community lottery
C.A.R.S. Community Lottery
A pound a week that keeps In the Pink, P.A.L.S. and our community cancer hubs free for everyone who needs them — most of every ticket goes straight to the work.
- Ticket price
- £1 per entry
- Draw
- Every Friday, 12 noon
- To the cause
- At least 60p in every £1
Top prize £2,000 — odds of winning it: 1 in 142,506 per entry.
You must be 18 or over to buy a ticket or claim a prize. UK residents only. By entering you confirm you meet these requirements. Age and identity are verified before any prize is paid.
How it works
Four simple steps
Choose your numbers
Pick 5 numbers from 1–30, or take a lucky dip and we choose for you.
The draw takes place
Every Friday at 12 noon, using an independently tested random number generator.
Winners are notified directly
By email, privately, within three working days. We never publish full identities.
Your ticket funds the work
At least 60p of every £1 goes straight to our free programmes and hubs.
Prizes and odds
What you could win — and the honest chances
Prizes for the 5-from-30 format, shown with their exact odds. There are 142,506 possible combinations; the chance of winning any prize is roughly 1 in 46 per entry.
| Tier | Match | Prize | Odds per entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| First prize | Match all 5 numbers | £2,000 | 1 in 142,506 |
| Second prize | Match 4 numbers | £50 | 1 in 1,140 |
| Third prize | Match 3 numbers | £5 | 1 in 48 |
Enter the draw
Set up your entry
Five short steps. Payment is taken securely by Stripe once you have confirmed your entry.
The draw
Schedule, notification and claims
- When the draw happens
- Every Friday at 12 noon. Results are published on the winners page the same day.
- Entry cut-off
- Entries must be received by midnight on Wednesday to be included in that week's draw; later entries roll into the next one.
- How winners are notified
- By email to the address on the entry, normally within three working days. We never ask for a fee to release a prize.
- Claim window and unclaimed prizes
- Prizes are paid after age and identity verification. Claims close 90 days after the draw; unclaimed prizes are applied to the charity's free programmes.
Where the money goes
The split of every pound
By law, at least 20% of society lottery proceeds must reach the cause — our split stays well above that floor.
- Free programmes and hubs — 60p
- Prize fund — 25p
- Running costs — 15p
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Choose 5 numbers between 1 and 30, or take a lucky dip and let us choose for you. Each entry costs £1. You can enter a single draw or set up a weekly or monthly subscription. The draw takes place every Friday at 12 noon.
5 numbers are drawn at random using an independently tested random number generator, supervised by the person responsible for the lottery and a second trustee. The method is set out in the lottery terms, and results are published on our winners page the same day.
Every valid entry in a draw is checked against the drawn numbers automatically. Winners are contacted directly by email within three working days of the draw — we never announce a winner publicly without their consent, and we never ask winners to pay a fee to claim a prize.
Prizes are paid directly to winners after age and identity checks. If we cannot reach you, details of how to claim are set out in the lottery terms; claims must be made within 90 days of the draw. Unclaimed prizes are applied to the charity's free programmes.
You can cancel at any time by emailing support@scteactivities.org.uk or calling 0300 365 1440. Cancellations received before the weekly cut-off (midnight on Wednesday) take effect before the next draw. There is no cancellation fee, and any draws already paid for still stand.
Email support@scteactivities.org.uk and ask for a break or for self-exclusion. We will stop your entries and lottery marketing for the period you choose — self-exclusion lasts a minimum of six months. Because the lottery is registered with the council rather than licensed by the Gambling Commission it is not covered by GAMSTOP, but our responsible gambling page explains our own process along with wider tools such as Gamban and bank gambling blocks.
You must be 18 or over and resident in the United Kingdom. We ask you to confirm this when you enter, and age and identity are verified before any prize is paid. Entries from anyone under 18 are void and the stake is returned.
Yes. Society lotteries in Great Britain are regulated under the Gambling Act 2005. The lottery is promoted by Cancer Active Recovery Support, registered charity 1201440, as a small society lottery registered with North West Leicestershire District Council (registration reference SL0142).
In the 5-from-30 format there are 142,506 possible combinations, so the odds of matching all 5 numbers are 1 in 142,506 per £1 entry, and roughly 1 in 46 of winning any prize. The odds for each prize tier are stated alongside the prizes on this page.
We use your details to run the draw, pay prizes and meet our legal duties — nothing more, unless you separately opt in to hear from us. Entering the lottery is not consent to marketing. Our privacy policy explains everything we hold and your rights under UK GDPR.
At least 60p of every £1 ticket funds our free programmes, around 25p funds prizes and 15p covers running costs. By law, at least 20% of society lottery proceeds must go to the cause — our aim is to keep our share well above that floor.
No. Lottery tickets are not gifts, so Gift Aid can never be claimed on them. If you would like the charity to reclaim Gift Aid on your support, please use the donate page instead, where a Gift Aid declaration is available.
Play responsibly
You must be 18 or over to enter the C.A.R.S. Community Lottery. We would far rather you gave less, or stopped playing, than spent more than feels comfortable.
- Set a budget before you play, and keep to it.
- Treat the lottery as a way of giving — never as income.
- Take regular breaks; the draw will still be here.
- Never chase losses.
- Ask for help if playing stops feeling comfortable.
Free, confidential support is available from GambleAware, GamCare, Gamban and the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 (free, 24/7). Because this lottery is registered with the local council rather than licensed by the Gambling Commission, it is not covered by GAMSTOP — but you can ask us to pause your entries or self-exclude at any time. Read how on our responsible gambling page.
The C.A.R.S. Community Lottery is promoted by Cancer Active Recovery Support, a registered charity in England and Wales (no. 1201440), principal office Lavender House, 21 Pickerings Avenue, Measham, Swadlincote, Derbyshire DE12 7SB. Responsible person: Lesley Milner, Chair of Trustees.
Licence route and reference: small society lottery registered with North West Leicestershire District Council, registration reference SL0142 (registered 3 March 2026). The lottery is promoted in accordance with the Gambling Act 2005.
Full rules in the lottery terms.