South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council are calling out to all community groups, charities, and good causes in the area who might be interested in being part of a new council run lottery initiative.

The SeaMoor Lotto is a new venture which is being led by the councils to provide a way for local good causes to raise funds.

60 per cent of all money raised will go towards local good causes, 20 per cent of ticket sales will be put toward prizes and 20 per cent will go towards the running costs.

The councils want to hear from any interested parties, so that they can be invited to a launch event in May and find out how to sign up to become part of the SeaMoor Lotto.

West Devon Cllr Neil Jory, member for the lottery, explains: “This is a win-win situation. The local charities and groups who sign up to be a part of the lottery will be able to raise money for their own projects; we will be able t support local good causes with the proceeds of the lottery and the members of the public who buy tickets stand a chance of winning a monetary prize of up to £25,000.”

Cllr Keith Wingate added: “Local authority run lotteries are working very well for many other communities around the country. We are working with ‘Gatherwell’, the company who manage lottery initiatives nationwide and will provide the know-how.

“Their mission is to help good causes raise money - their first project was a schools lottery, helping schools across the UK deal with increasing austerity pressures; now they help a wide range of local causes from local community centres to Age UK.

“With their support and guidance we are in safe hands and will be delivering a lottery service for our community and charity sector that will benefit everybody.”

Lottery tickets will only be sold via the internet and tickets will cost £1 each per draw. When a player buys a ticket, they will opt to support a specific good cause or contribute to the community fund - the latter will be administered by the council.

Once the local groups have signed up, the draw will take place every Saturday evening at 8pm, and as with other lotteries, the more numbers matched, the bigger the prize.

South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council plan to launch the SeaMoor Lotto to the public in the summer.

If you are a charity, community organisation, or a good cause based in the South Hams or West Devon, and you might be interested to find out how to get involved, please email [email protected] stating your cause and contact details. You will then be added to the information list and receive an invite to the launch event.