Tickets for this year's bumper Channel Islands Lottery Christmas Draw have gone on sale, with one lucky islander set to walk away with a top prize of up to £1 million.
The 2020 draw has a new ticket price of £2, which organisers hope will boost sales.
All proceeds from the Christmas Lottery are distributed to local charities. However in recent years, the numbers of tickets sold has fallen, reducing the amount raised for worthy causes.
In response to the fall in sales, in 2018 the ticket price was increased from £2 to £3. Although the number of tickets sold subsequently fell, the overall value of sales increased, so the amount raised for charity rose compared to 2017. However last year saw a further fall in ticket sales, despite the draw having its first ever guaranteed £1 million jackpot.
Channel Islanders were therefore asked for their views before the plan for this year's draw was finalised. Nearly 3,500 took part in an independent survey, which looked at various aspects including ticket price and buying habits.
Senior Lottery Officer, Jon Taylor, said feedback regarding the cost of a ticket was conclusive, with 73% of respondents supporting a price of £2.
"Islanders felt the £3 ticket price was too high, and that the Christmas game should be capped at £2. In addition, instead of starting with a guaranteed £1 million first prize, the top prize will increase as sales rise, as in previous years."
"We are confident that reverting back to a £2 ticket will encourage Islanders to buy and in turn help support so many worthy causes throughout the Bailiwick. The changes that we have made reflect the feedback from islanders who took part in the survey. We hope that in light of this, and the challenges faced by the community and the charity sector this year, the 2020 Christmas Draw will be well received."
The first prize starts at a guaranteed £300,000, but will rise as the number of tickets sold increases. It will top the £1 million mark if all 1,500,000 tickets are bought..
The draw will be live on Thursday 17 December, and will have more than 65 other prizes up for grabs. Those lucky ticketholders will each scoop between £500 and £50,000.
Each ticket also includes an instant win scratch-off game with prizes of between £2 and £5,000. The survey also highlighted the popularity of the instant part of the ticket with 70% of respondents wanting that element retained.
83% of Guernsey respondents to the survey bought tickets for last year's draw, and nearly half took part in a syndicate.
Lottery main distributor Guernsey Post is providing a dedicated service for syndicates. Anyone looking to organise one can contact the company on 01481 733570, or email jmeakin@guernseypost.com.
Christmas Lottery tickets are on sale throughout the Channel Islands.
The survey findings are available from the Channel Island Lottery website at www.cilottery.org
2020 CI Lottery Christmas Game - Prize structure
Live Draw Thursday 17th December
1st prize: A guaranteed minimum of £300,000 and rising with ticket sales.
2nd prize: £50,000.
Five 3rd prizes of £10,000.
Plus: 15 prizes of £2,500, 20 prizes of £1,000, and 25 prizes of £500.
Instant draw prizes
1,500,000 tickets in 2020 CI Christmas Draw include 229,852 instant wins, with a top prize of £5,000.
