The Health Lottery
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| Region | Great Britain |
|---|---|
| First draw | October 2011 |
| Operator | Northern and Shell |
| Regulated By | Gambling Commission |
| Highest Jackpot | £100,000 |
| Odds of winning jackpot | 1 in 2,118,760 |
| Number of Games | 5 |
| Shown on | |
| Website | www |
The Health Lottery is a lottery in Great Britain launched in October 2011 where players choose 5 different numbers from 1 through 50; at least 3 numbers must match in order to win a prize. It is operated by Northern and Shell which owns numerous media outlets in the United Kingdom.
Players must be at least 16 years old. Tickets are sold only in the UK, except Northern Ireland. (Great Britain)
The origins of the Health Lottery predate the National Lottery, to the failed National Health Service Lottery which had an abortive launch in 1988, before being declared illegal. The assets of the NHS Lottery were purchased in 2007 by Altala Group Ltd, a company run by Ian Milligan, a former employee of Camelot Group, the operators of the UK National Lottery. Altala went into administration in 2009, shortly before it was due to be granted its gambling licence, and was purchased by Health Lottery Ltd. After winning the licence, the Health Lottery was sold in February 2011 to Richard Desmond's Northern & Shell group. The Health Lottery launched in September 2011.
At the beginning, draws for the Health Lottery were broadcast live on the ITV network during an advertisement break of The X Factor, paid for by Northern and Shell, and shortly after on Channel 5. Draws are currently broadcast at around 9.55pm on Channel 5. It was initially planned to be hosted by Eamonn Holmes but as Holmes was employed by Sky News, he was dropped due to a possible conflict of interest.Melinda Messenger was confirmed as the host on 5 October 2011.
On 9 Nov 2011, the Health Lottery announced that the Saturday night TV draw show would be extended in length to showcase where the good causes money raised is being spent, as from 12 November when it moved exclusively onto Channel 5. Natalie Cassidy took over as host from spring 2012.
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