The Channel Island Lottery is the State

lottery A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...

in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

run jointly by the

States of Jersey The States Assembly (french: Assemblée des États; Jèrriais: ) is the parliament of Jersey, formed of the island's 37 deputies and the Connétable of each of the twelve parishes. The origins of the legislature of Jersey lie in the system o ...

and

States of Guernsey The States of Guernsey (french: États de Guernesey), sometimes referred to as the Government of Guernsey, is the parliament and government of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. Some laws and ordinances approved by the States of Guern ...

. The first draw was held in 1975.

History

The Channel Islands Lottery was founded in 1975 with the merger of the Jersey Lottery and the Guernsey Lottery. The Jersey Lottery was established in 1966 and the Guernsey Lottery in 1971. The game is the oldest lottery in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, established before those in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

(1987) and

the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

(1994). Jersey's share of the profits from the lottery were initially used to finance the transformation of

Fort Regent Fort Regent is a 19th-century fortification and leisure centre on Mont de la Ville (Town Hill), in Saint Helier, Jersey, St. Helier, Jersey. The fort is in close proximity to the fortified South Hill Engineers Barracks at La Collette Power Statio ...

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. A scratchcard instant game was introduced to revitalise the traditional draw in 1997. On 29 June 2012, a summer draw was launched with a million £2 lottery tickets going on sale. The main prize, had all tickets being sold, would have been £1 million, with a further £300,000 in smaller prizes. However ticket sales were much lower than anticipated, and the main prize was only £150,000, with £300,000 in smaller prizes. The summer lottery was cancelled in 2013.

Proposals to replace with the United Kingdom National Lottery

Since 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 , image = , caption=Logos of the Government of Jersey in English and Jèrriais , date = , state = Jersey , address = 19-21 Broad Street, Saint Helier , appointed = Chief Minister, with approval ...

favours this as this would triple the amount given to good causes. However some residents feel this would lose them their independence. Foreign tickets are not currently sold in the Islands. The Islands are not eligible for Good Causes Funding, although the UK National Lottery Act 2006 provides for the eventuality that the Channel Islands may participate. The UK's other Crown Dependency, the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

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 jackpot for the 2016 Christmas Draw was £1,120,220.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Economy of Jersey Economy of Guernsey Lotteries Lottery games 20th-century establishments in Guernsey 20th-century establishments in Jersey