Supporters FAQ
Q: What is The Essex Lottery?
A: The Essex Lottery is a weekly lottery brought to you by Essex County Council. When you buy a ticket for £1 you will be entered into a draw to win cash prizes.
More information about how your support will help can be found on our about us page.
Q: How do I play?
A: Select the 'Play' button, find a good cause to support and then follow the instructions. You can pay for tickets by Direct Debit or debit card.
Q: How much do tickets cost?
A: Each ticket costs £1 a week. You can buy more than one ticket for each draw. At least 60p from every £1 ticket you buy will be spent on supporting the good causes of the lottery, more information can be found on our about us page. The remainder is spent on prizes and on the administration of the lottery.
Q: What information will I need to sign up?
A: Signing up is easy. We just need your name, email address, and postal address. We also need your date of birth to validate you are over 18. We take care to protect your data. Read our privacy notice.
Q: What’s the purpose of picking numbers?
A: Many people have favourite or memorable numbers and some feel particular numbers are luckier than others. We allow you to choose a cherished set of numbers, whether that be your telephone number, date of birth or another number important to you. If you don’t want to choose your own numbers you can click the 'choose for me' button.
You can buy additional tickets for inclusion in the same draw and choose different numbers or the same six-digit "Game Number" for your additional tickets. Each ticket and additional ticket you buy will be unique when entered into the draw and has an equal chance of winning.
Q: What are the odds of winning a prize?
A: Each ticket has a 1 in 50 chance to win a prize each week.
Q: How do winners find out they've won?
A: Every week, all winners will be advised by email. The winning number will also be published on our website, Facebook and X each week following the draw.
Q: How will I receive my winnings?
A: Your winnings will be paid directly into your nominated bank account or you can choose to donate your winnings back to the good cause fund.
Q: How do I pay?
A: You can either set up a monthly recurring payment plan via Direct Debit or payment card or pay for a block of 1, 3, 6 or 12 months of weekly tickets on a non-recurring basis.
There is no commitment to stay in the lottery and players can choose to leave at any time.
Unfortunately, we can't accept payments for a single week as payment processing costs would impact the amounts we could provide to prizes and the lottery fund.
Q: Who deals with any questions I may have?
A: We do. We have a dedicated support number (0300 302 32 32) that deals directly with any queries you may have.
We also have a dedicated email address [email protected]
Q: Can we play as a syndicate?
A: You can play as a syndicate. We provide more information on playing safely as a syndicate on our syndicates page.
