Lotteries & Prize Draws
One-off support turned into an ongoing commitment.
Why it matters
Lotteries and prize draws do something a single appeal can't: they turn one-off giving into an ongoing commitment. Cymba's SMS Lottery Service lets charities recruit more players, all by text, with Direct Debit available for ongoing weekly play. It also manages compliance and processes recurring payments for single and multiple entries. Where a single appeal has to be won over and over again, a lottery only has to be won once; then it keeps paying off draw after draw.
Built for compliance and scale
Cymba's SMS Lottery Service handles the admin, so your team doesn't have to, from entry by text through to ongoing payment by Direct Debit. It's built to manage the compliance side properly from day one, not bolted on as an afterthought once a lottery is already running.
- Manages entries and compliance by SMS, with Direct Debit handling ongoing weekly payments
- Recruits more lottery players without extra call centre costs
- Compliant processes built in from day one
More ways to enter than a ticket book
A lottery draw is a cash-based giving product with a draw on a set date, and supporters can enter however suits them: a quick text for a one-off or trial entry, or Direct Debit if they'd rather play every week without thinking about it. Either way, it works alongside whatever else you're already running, not instead of it.
- Enter by text for a one-off try, or by Direct Debit for automatic weekly entry
- Winnings paid automatically, no forms or calls needed to claim a prize
- Runs alongside TV, print, or social to convert hand-raisers into paying entrants
Real ROI, not just a nice thing to do
Text-to-enter consistently outperforms call-centre-led sign-up, and the difference shows up directly in cost per acquisition. It also reaches supporters a direct debit ask would otherwise miss entirely.
- Lowers cost per acquisition for TV and direct mail campaigns
- Onboards supporters who might otherwise avoid a direct debit ask
- Gives a second, more popular route to entry alongside existing channels
Built to work with your existing lottery partner
Lottery giving has its own rules and its own reporting, so Cymba is built to plug straight into the infrastructure you already have. Nothing about switching to text entry means switching lottery managers.
- Integrates with all major UK External Lottery Managers (ELMs)
- A dedicated lottery-licensed shortcode runs alongside your promotional one
- Player and address data flows straight to your ELM, ready to combine with other lottery data
Cats Protection increases lottery players with a text-to-enter solution
Cats Protection is the UK's largest cat welfare charity. With a need to grow sign-ups for its weekly Win With Cats lottery and improve ROI from its direct response TV advertising, they turned to Cymba
Previously, a keyword shortcode with no financial ask meant a call centre had to follow up to set up a direct debit, an expensive extra step. Cymba's SMS Lottery Service let supporters text to enter directly, live within a month of agreeing the workflow.
Their Win With Cats lottery offers a £1,000 weekly jackpot alongside hundreds of smaller prizes, with winnings paid out automatically and no need for players to claim anything.
