Charity lottery firm plans alternative market float

A rival to the National Lottery which claims it will offer better odds of winning and higher contributions to charity was today preparing to list on the stock market in London.

Charity lottery company Chariot – which is chaired by Tim Holley, the former Camelot chief executive who launched the National Lottery more than a decade ago - today said it intended to float on the Alternative Investment Market early next month.

The game itself will not start until later in the year, but Chariot today promised to give players better chances of winning lower prizes, the choice of which charity the money goes to, and a bigger contribution to that charity than the 28p in every £1 the National Lottery gives.

It has already signed up 48 charities to take part in the games, although full details of how much tickets will cost, how big winnings will be, and the slice given to the charities has yet to be decided.

A Chariot spokesman said: “The game is still being finalised but the premise is that it will run lotteries on behalf of charities.

“Each week there will be five charities listed on the website and the player will be able to choose which charity he will play with.

“The money will go directly to that charity, and Chariot is committed to giving a larger percentage to the charity than the National Lottery.”

Chariot said that by giving its players the choice of where their money went it was addressing concerns raised by National Lottery players.

The National Lottery has faced criticism since its launch over some of the good causes it has given money to.

Earlier this month it emerged that the Heritage Lottery Fund – one of five funds which distributes lottery cash – had rejected an application for money from St Paul’s Cathedral because it was too exclusive.

However, it has funded projects on Nubian heritage and African dishes and a study on dreadlocks, while other controversial grants include £420,000 (€610,000) to help Peruvian farmers breed edible guinea pigs and £20,000 (€29,000) on teaching prisoners to play the xylophone.

Chariot managing director Craig Freeman said: “We believe that the combination of offering people the opportunity to play a lottery with attractive odds and prizes whilst also contributing directly to a charity of their choice will appeal to the public.”

Chariot raised £4.4m (€6.3m) from investors in October last year and hopes to raise a further £9.5m (€13.8m) with its AIM listing. The money will be used to market and promote the new game.