Charity lottery efficiency: where your ticket money goes
Last updated 22 September 2026 (AEST) · 6 operators · Method: prize value, ticket price and ticket cap read from each operator's own draw pages; charity numbers and spending statements from their published disclosures.
Every charity lottery tells you it supports a good cause. None of them tells you how it compares to the one next to it. This table puts 6 Australian operators side by side on the two things that can actually be checked: how much prize value they put behind each dollar of tickets, and what they have published about their own spending.
We do not publish a made-up "cents in the dollar to charity" percentage. No operator discloses that figure in a comparable form, so inventing one would be worse than useless. What is below is computed from each operator's own published prize values, ticket prices and ticket caps, plus their registered charity details.
How to use this page
Start with the prize return column — that is the strongest like-for-like number. Then open an operator's "where your money goes" page for their registration details, published spending and the causes the draw funds.
| Operator | Prize returnPrize value per $1 of tickets at the published cap | Median ticket | Draws tracked | Total prize value | Charity / licence no. | Spending disclosureWhether we hold a published ACNC spending statement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endeavour Lotteries | 20c per $1 | $10.00 | 6 | $9.8M | ABN 80 009 670 704 | Not published |
| Dream Home Art Union (RSL Art Union) | 10c per $1 | $5.00 | 25 | $124.2M | Not published | Not published |
| Yourtown | Not publishable | — | 31 | $79.6M | ABN 11 102 379 386 | Not published |
| Mater Lotteries | Not publishable | $2.00 | 5 | $11.6M | ABN 96 723 184 640 | Not published |
| Dream Home VIP High Life (Cars) | Not publishable | $5.00 | 2 | $10.2M | Not published | Not published |
| Deaf Lottery | Not publishable | $2.00 | 4 | $1.8M | ABN 62 118 664 298 | Not published |
What these numbers mean
Prize return is prize value divided by (ticket price × published ticket cap): what the operator puts back as prizes for every dollar of tickets sold at a full pool. The rest funds the cause, the prize acquisition and the cost of running the draw — the split varies by operator and is disclosed in their annual reporting, not on the ticket page. "Not publishable" means the operator does not publish a ticket cap, so no honest figure can be calculated.
Questions people ask
How much of a charity lottery ticket actually goes to the charity?
It varies by operator and is not published in a single comparable figure. What can be compared is prize return — how much prize value each operator puts behind a dollar of tickets — which is the ranking column above. 0 of the 6 operators we track have published a spending statement we hold on file; open their "where your money goes" page to read it. Figures come from each operator's own published draw pages, recorded at the time we last fetched them. Charity lotteries are games of chance regulated under state gaming licences. Always confirm the price, close time and terms on the operator's official site before you buy.
Which Australian charity lottery gives the most back in prizes?
On the draws we currently track, Endeavour Lotteries has the highest published prize return at 20c per $1 of tickets sold at a full pool. This changes as draws open and close.
How can I check a charity lottery is legitimate?
Check the charity or licence number in the table above against the public register — 4 of the operators we track publish an ABN that resolves on the ACNC charity register. Australian charity lotteries also operate under a state gaming licence printed in their terms and conditions.
Do you earn money from these operators?
How we make money: we may earn a commission when you buy a ticket after following a link from this site. It is paid by the operator's marketing budget, never added to your ticket price, and it plays no part in any ranking on this page — every column here is computed from the operator's own published figures.