Three members of the Trust, one of whom is a long standing Goldbond/Lotto agent, had a meeting with the club, where the guests were Barry Kilby and Nick Palich of Total Gaming Solutions to discuss a number of queries that had arisen following changes made to the Dale Lotto.
Before we commenced with our questions we made it plain to the club our disappointment at the way the discontinuing of Lotto doorstep collections was handled, particularly the lack of consultation and that the agents/cash collectors found out by a posting on the club web site which for most was a week before they received any written confirmation and in many instances some were actually getting confirmation from their customers who had been contacted before them.
The club agreed that this was not acceptable, but they had tried to get letters out first and that in hindsight maybe a short consultation, probably involving the Trust would have been beneficial. Certainly, they regretted that long standing agents, who had done sterling work should have found out this way and apologised unreservedly, though given the present health climate and with many staff furloughed it has been a difficult time for club officials. Since the club started working with TGSL, the club had held two consultation meetings with Lotto agents when changes were proposed. In hindsight, it might have had been better making the decision then to go to direct debits only.
Who are Total Gaming Solutions Limited?
TGS are a Padiham based company that operates several lotteries at various sporting clubs. Their current clients are The Barry Kilby Prostate Cancer Appeal, Bradford City, Bristol City, Burnley, Ipswich Town, Nottingham Forest, Plymouth Argyle, Portsmouth and Yorkshire County Cricket Club. They have been in partnership with the club since November 2018.
How many sign ups have there been since the switch to direct debit payments?
There were already 262 signed up on Direct Debit and 215 on Standing Order. Since the announcement was made to switch everything to Direct Debit, 150 have signed up at £2 per week with a further 134 on £1 a week. As a result, it is hoped that the re-scheduled initial Lotto draw will take place on 20th July. Any supporter joining now might not be eligible for the first draw simply due to the time taken by the processing of the direct debit.
What prompted that decision to go direct debit only
The simple reason is that it will be more profitable for the club. The previous twelve months of Lotto saw a turnover of £165,000. This brought a return to the club of less than £20,000 when the expenses of prize money, salaries, agents, results sheets, fuel costs, banking charges and postage was taken off. Being direct debit only, the admin costs for the scheme are massively reduced. Given the number of people currently signed up, twelve months trading based on those numbers will see a considerably more profit to the club based on what is a projected £89,000 turnover from those who have signed up already. This is something that all parties are wanting to see increased. Supporters who are not yet signed up for it are requested to do so by the links at the bottom of this report.
Will the scheme be run 100% by the lottery partners, and if not, what role will the club play in this?
It is a partnership between the two. The club will continue to monitor the scheme.
Is the Lotto registered with the Gambling Commission?
No, it is registered with Rochdale MBC as a small lottery. Registration with the Gambling Commission is not required until turnover is in excess of £250,000.
Does the charitable donation come from the club’s side or the lottery partner’s side?
The charitable donation only comes about when the Canvassers from the Lottery Partners sign people up themselves at £2 per week. When Dale supporters sign up directly through the club, there is no charitable donation.
What’s happening with the funds that have been collected during this period with no draws?
All the money that has been collected in so far has been ringfenced entirely and will remain in each member’s account, and only used in future draws for that member.
What will be the gift to the Lotto agents that has been previously mentioned?
The club was reminded that in their letter which the cash collectors received, the club wanted to make some gesture to those collectors in recognition for their many hours of selfless toil over the years, however, until there is more certainty over the season, the club are not yet in a position to make a decision on what this should be. (We have discussed this with the club again and we have been told that a decision will be made at the next Board meeting and announced by 18th August)
Have the prizes offered changed from those previously?
Yes, initially there will be for the first four draws a top prize of a thousand pounds with other prizes being offered as: the weekly rollover of £1000, rising by £100 each week, one £50 draw, five £20 draws and ten £10 draws. In addition, there will be two special draws, one at the start of the season, and another at Christmas both of which are for £5,000. They would look to increase the value of the prizes as revenue increases. In addition, following a suggestion by the Trust, a number of spot prizes will be added to the draw.
Can we review the success of the scheme down the line?
Yes, both Barry and Nick were happy to meet with us again to discuss the Lotto if needed, and we will look to meet them again after twelve months of the new scheme to look back at its progress.
How do Dale supporters sign up to the scheme?
As mentioned above, you can do so by visiting
£1 a week members https://paymymembership.co.uk/rochdale/
£2 a week members https://paymymembership.co.uk/dale/
All figures were correct as of the day of the meeting (7th July)