Channel Islands Lottery

Selling 2011 Christmas draw tickets at a kiosk in Saint Helier, Jersey

The Channel Island Lottery is the State lottery in the Channel Islands run jointly by the States of Jersey and States of Guernsey. It is the oldest national lottery in the British Isles^{[citation needed]} with the first draw being in 1975.^[1]

History

The Channel Islands Lottery was founded in 1975 with the merger of the Jersey Lottery and the Guernsey Lottery.^[2] The Jersey Lottery was established in 1966^[3] and the Guernsey Lottery in 1971. The game is the oldest lottery in the British Isles, beating Ireland (1987) and the United Kingdom (1994).

Jersey's share of the profits from the lottery were initially used to finance the transformation of Fort Regent into a sports and entertainment complex. On the completion of that project, the States of Jersey agreed that the Jersey part of the profits from the Channel Islands Lottery should be applied to charitable purposes, through the Association of Jersey Charities.^[4]

A scratchcard instant game was introduced to revitalise the traditional draw in 1997.^[5]

Proposals to replace with the United Kingdom National Lottery

Since the the launch of the National Lottery in the United Kingdom in 1994 there have been proposals to replace the Channel Islands Lottery by making United Kingdom lottery ticket sales available in the Channel Islands. The Government of Jersey favours this as this would triple the amount given to good causes^[6]. However some residents feel this would lose them their independence. Foreign tickets are not currently sold in the Islands and residents of the Islands are not allowed to claim prizes which includes the Pan-European EuroMillions^[7][8]. The Islands are not eligible for Good Causes Funding^[9], although the UK National Lottery Act 2006 provides for the eventuality that the Channel Islands may participate^[10]. The other one of the Crown Dependencies, the Isle of Man participates in the UK National Lottery.

Games

The main game is a scratchcard game where the maximum prize is £20,000 which replaced draw based games in 2004. There is also the Christmas Super Draw which is part scratchcard, part draw based. The 2010 jackpot for the Christmas Draw was £750,000.^[11]

References

1. ^ Channel Islands Lottery
2. ^ "Gambling (Channel Islands Lottery) (Jersey) Regulations 1975". http://www.jerseylaw.je/law/display.aspx?url=lawsinforce%2Fconsolidated%2F11%2F11.300.30_Gambling%28ChannelIslandsLottery%29Regs1975_RevisedEdition_1January2006.htm. Retrieved 30 October 2011. 
3. ^ Syvret & Stevens (1998). Balleine's History of Jersey. Jersey: Phillimore. ISBN 1860770657. 
4. ^ "States of Jersey Official Report 18 November 2009". http://www.statesassembly.gov.je/documents/hansard/1890-12772-26112009.htm#_Toc246926618. Retrieved 30 October 2011. 
5. ^ "Gambling (Channel Islands Lottery) (Jersey) Order 1997". http://www.jerseylaw.je/Law/display.aspx?url=lawsinforce%2fconsolidated%2f11%2f11.300.20_Gambling%28ChannelIslandsLottery%29Order1997_RevisedEdition_1January2006.htm. Retrieved 30 October 2011. 
6. ^ Lottery could be switched to UK
7. ^ National Lottery:Can I play while overseas?
8. ^ Losing out on National Lottery Channel Online
9. ^ Memorandum to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Post Legislative Assessment of the National Lottery Act 2006, 2011: "This provision of the Act allows the Big Lottery Fund to distribute National Lottery proceeds to the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. This power has been implemented in respect of the Isle of Man, where National Lottery tickets can now be purchased, but has yet to be enacted in the Channel Islands."
10. ^ UK National Lottery Act 2006 - Explanatory notes: "Subsection (1) provides that a body may distribute money to meet expenditure which relates to the Isle of Man or any of the Channel Islands. In particular, it is intended that the Big Lottery Fund will distribute money to these islands so long as satisfactory arrangements have been made for National Lottery games to be played there (as they have already in the Isle of Man)"
11. ^ "Channel Islands Lottery results". http://www.gov.je/Leisure/Gambling/Pages/Lottery.aspx. Retrieved 30 October 2011.