In twenty years of operation, more than 20,000 projects in Northern Ireland alone have received vital grants from the National Lottery. The largest single grant in the country was awarded to the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, which received a remarkable £45 million in 1997. Other notable beneficiaries include the National Trust, which received £3 million to fund the development of the Giant’s Causeway Visitors Centre, the SS Nomadic which received £3.25 million towards restoration costs and the Connswater Community Greenway which received £23.5 million for improvements.
Joanne McDowell, of the Northern Ireland National Lottery Forum, said; “Northern Ireland's social, economic, cultural and physical landscape has changed immeasurably since 1994” and added that much of this was as a direct result of National Lottery funding which is only possible thanks to lottery players across the United Kingdom.
More than £110 billion worth of National Lottery tickets have been purchased since 1994 and the Good Causes Fund receives a guaranteed 28% of every £1 spent. However, players don’t just benefit from the fantastic lottery funded projects – they can also win some of the life-changing prizes that are up for grabs in every draw. To date, lucky players have collected approximately £50 billion in prizes and more than 3,000 new millionaires have been created.
If you’d like to contribute to the Good Causes Fund, and also be in with a chance of becoming the National Lottery’s newest millionaire, tickets for EuroMillions and the UK Lotto can be purchased online via the Lottery Tickets tab or in person from an authorised retailer.
