€ 46.9 million for health, wellbeing, clubs and associations

Amsterdam/The Hague, 6 February 2009 - Today, the Sponsor Bingo Lottery donated 46.9 million Euros to dozens of national good causes, clubs and organisations in the fields of health and wellbeing. Last year, that figure was 40 million Euros. Charity organisations seem to take the initiative. They increasingly take up the opportunity to ask their supporters to join the lottery for their own good cause.

As a result of this fundraising method, the proceeds for charities rose from 14 to 20 million Euros this year. That represents 42.5 percent of all donations. Thanks to this method, 2300 organisations in the Netherlands now generate extra income.

New beneficiaries
Last year, 32 national charity organisations received a donation from the Sponsor Bingo Lottery. Four have been added this year, viz., National Hearing Foundation, Dutch Eye Fund Foundation, Children’s Welfare Stamps Foundation and the More Than Football Foundation. They will all receive donations for a 3-year period.

“Thanks to the excellent results of the Sponsor Bingo Lottery, we can add a number of charity organisations as beneficiaries of the lottery. We’re glad that this will enable us to profile ourselves even more as the lottery for health and wellbeing,” Boudewijn Poelmann, Chairman of the Sponsor Bingo Lottery Board said.

Defined fundraising
Participants in the Sponsor Bingo Lottery can determine themselves what charity they play for (so-called ‘defined participation’). Many participants use this opportunity to support their local sports club or choir by selling lottery tickets. This can also be a national charity organisation. It generates additional income for these organisations, as half of the proceeds of each ticket are allocated directly to the charity of the participant’s choice.

Projects
Thanks to the success of the Sponsor Bingo Lottery, there are also funds available to allocate donations to six concrete projects:

• Research into the recovery of young people with brain damage by using the Wii game computer – Dutch Brain Foundation;
• The construction of an epilepsy school in Oosterhout – National Epilepsy Fund;
• Research into the identification of brain tissue – MS Research Foundation;
• Developing the ‘Dream Experience’, a three-day activity package for children, adults and senior citizens with a disability – Doen Foundation and the Dutch Foundation for Disabled Children;
• Setting up a free-of-charge and anonymous telephone helpline for aids prevention in Curacao – Aid Fund;
• The commissioning of an ‘Unforgettable’ day bus programme for senior citizens – National Fund for Senior Citizens.

About the Sponsor Bingo Lottery
The Sponsor Bingo Lottery is the lottery for health and wellbeing, in which bingo, which continuous to grow in popularity, plays a pivotal role. A total of 600,000 participate, together buying nearly 1 million tickets.
In 2008, the national campaign ‘I want to play outside’ was organised. Jantje Beton, the Johan Cruyff Foundation, the Richard Krajicek Foundation, Jump (the youth foundation of the Dutch Heart Foundation), the Diabetes Fund and the Disabled Sports Fund joined forces in conjunction with the lottery for the construction of children’s playing fields. Back...