A COMMUNITY lottery which has raised thousands of pounds for local charities in Essex has been scrapped by a borough council over concerns it contributes to gambling problems.

The Basildon Borough Community Lottery has raised £14,471.55 for 31 local good causes and £9,694.05 for the Mayor's Charity Appeal Trust.

In a move that was not unexpected, Basildon Council's policy executive committee voted to terminate its agreement with Gatherwell Ltd, which runs the lottery.

Councillors said the lottery is a form of gambling which can contribute to addiction and financial hardship in the community.

But critics warn local charities which depend on the funding will now have a vital source of income cut.

At the meeting council leader Cllr Andrew Baggott said people could donate directly to the charities instead of buying a lottery ticket, where a large proportion of the money raised goes to a prize fund and administrative costs.

He said: "The reality is, when we're talking about a lottery, it is still gambling. It's still encouraging people to gamble, it's still leading people down a path of thinking they're going to get something for nothing."

Cllr Jack Ferguson proposed transferring ownership of the lottery to another organisation, but this was voted down by the committee.

He said: "Local charities were recognised at last week's Basildon volunteer awards, where they won awards on the basis of the work that they've done because of the funding that they've received from this lottery.

"We would be withdrawing support from those organisations, we would be stopping them from doing the work that we recognise them for doing."

Only 361 tickets hadbeen sold for this weekend's draw against a target of 1,800, according to Richard Moore.

He said the jackpot of £25,000 can never be won due to the low number of tickets being brought.

Cllr Moore said: "In my view, it's gambling hidden by good causes."

The lottery was drawn every Saturday and tickets cost £1. For each ticket, 60p went to charity, 20p to a prize fund and 20p to cover administrative costs.

The total annual cost to the council was £785 and the council received no income itself from the lottery.