LOtteRY Lottery lifesavings When it comes to saving lives at sea, £200,000 is a great deal of money to raise. Luckily, improvements to the Lifeboat Lottery will save the RNLI approximately this much in administration – every year. Mairéad Dwane explains When it comes to saving lives at sea, £200,000 is a great deal of money to raise. Luckily, improvements to the Lifeboat Lottery will save the RNLI approximately this much in administration – every year. Mairéad Dwane explains From 1977–2004, Lifeboat Lottery winners were chosen the old-fashioned way. Tickets were put in a large drum, the handle was turned and the winning tickets drawn. As the Lottery’s popularity increased (takings are up 281% in the past 3 years) either the job would have to be outsourced or the RNLI was going to need a bigger drum! An outside lotteryhandling agency was indeed engaged by 2005.

But this need for outside help has been eliminated thanks to the huge efforts of members of the Information Systems, Income Processing and Supporter Communications teams at RNLI Headquarters. The new system is largely electronic.

Firstly, barcodes have been added to the vouchers that replaced books of separate tickets for those who ‘buy all’. Details can now be recorded up to four times quicker than before, bringing the task back within the capacity of in-house staff and saving the RNLI £130,000 a year.

Next, a unique computer system, developed internally by RNLI programmers, drives the draw itself. It gives every ticket its own numbered entry and then mixes up the sequence randomly. At the time of the draw, a display counts through the From 1977–2004, Lifeboat Lottery winners were chosen the old-fashioned way. Tickets were put in a large drum, the handle was turned and the winning randomised entries at a rate of 270 a second. Simply pushing a button freezes the process at the winning number and reveals the ticket holder’s details – and saves another £80,000 a year.

The fi rst draw of this kind was made at RNLI Headquarters in March 2007, with Poole fundraising branch Chairman Brian Traves pushing the button and selecting a ticket bought by Mr DJ Penn from Essex, who won a brand new Citroen C1.

Mr Traves explains: ‘Each ticket really has an equal chance now, no matter when bought.

Gone are the days of your ticket being stuck at the bottom of the barrel!’ He adds: ‘I was most impressed with the superb technology provided by the RNLI team in creating such a wonderful, fair system. The Lifeboat Lottery brought in £3.9M for the RNLI’s lifesaving work in 2006.’ Due to differing gaming laws in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, we regret that supporters here cannot enter the Lifeboat Lottery.

A new raft of gaming laws comes into play in Great Britain in September 2007, which may have further implications for the way in which the Lottery is run.

The Lifeboat will keep you informed of any changes. A new discovery each day RNLI corporate partner Travelscope Holidays Ltd has kindly donated several Lifeboat Lottery prizes over the years, as well as passing on to the charity a percentage of every holiday booked by RNLI supporters. It recently extended its river cruising fl eet and range of destinations and invited the RNLI’s Rhys Parker to sample 2 days of a trip from Amsterdam to Basle on board the MS Britannia. ‘Having never been on a river cruise before, I was unsure what to expect. I was very pleasantly surprised,’ says Rhys. ‘I joined the Britannia for her evening cruise to Utrecht then retired to an en suite, air-conditioned cabin for a good night’s sleep.

‘I was awoken next morning by the sound of the Britannia working her way through a lock en route to Arnhem, featured in the fi lm A Bridge too far. We had the choice of exploring the city or an excursion to the British Airborne Museum and war cemetery. ‘Back onboard, I had the pick of the sun deck and pool, a spacious lounge with all-round views of the passing countryside, a reasonably priced bar, sauna, solarium, TV room and souvenir shop.

‘The following day, I was sad to leave.

The Britannia’s other passengers, however, were journeying onwards to Germany and Switzerland. I asked Margaret and Bill Dunn from North Shields their opinion of the holiday: “Firstly, we were surprised at how big the boat is. The food and accommodation have been good too. It’s our first river cruise; we’ve cruised the Caribbean but the thing that attracted us to this holiday was the idea that we could see and discover new places each day.”’ To fi nd out more, see Travelscope’s advert on page 8, see www.travelscope.co.uk/lif, or speak to an RNLI-designated Travelscope representative on 0870 264 2160. YOUR CHANCE TO WIN! YOUR CHANCE TO WIN! THE LIFEBOAT LOTTERY 30 YEARS ANNIVERSARY First prize in the Autumn 2007 Lifeboat Lottery is a Peugeot 107. Second prize is a Travelscope 12-day cruise for two to St Petersburg and the Baltic capitals.

There are seven cash prizes from £500–£100 Tickets will be available to members on 18 July and earlier to fundraising branches. If you don’t usually receive tickets and would like to, please call 0845 121 4999 or email [email protected]. Spring 2007 Lottery winners 1st prize Citroen C1, Mr DJ Penn, Essex 2nd prize 9-day Blue Danube cruise from Travelscope Holidays Ltd, Mr JL Dawson, Birmingham 3rd prize £500, Miss J Baker, Cardiff 4th Prize £250, Mr R Clark, Middlesex Five prizes of £100 each, Mrs J Jones, Hampshire; Mr GHW Jeffries, Norfolk; Ms BM Stoddart, South Yorkshire; Mr AW Sharp, Surrey; Mr CH Horton, Norfolk .