Online lotto iTicket system a money spinner for clubs
By Tom Gillespie
A HONG Kong native, based in Murrisk, Westport, has come up with a novel way of playing local lottos online.
James Grimshaw works in St. Brendan’s Day Centre in Mulranny, who run a weekly fundraising lotto.
When he was asked to help out he suggested going online and the LottoRaiser online lotto iTicket selling system was launched.
Now up to 40 sporting clubs and charities have joined up and it enables their supporters, at home and abroad, to play online, proving a major financial boost during the Covid-19 lockdown.
James, who has been in the west of Ireland for 22 years having been attracted here by the ‘charms of an Irish lady’, said: “The local lotto has been a most rewarding endeavour. Some may find fundraising a struggle. So let the LottoRaiser system intensify your online reach and make it great.
“We work with your local lotto, keeping your uniqueness and that special something about your community.
“The LottoRaiser system is designed around the needs of your club or charity. Minimum effort for you, maximum satisfaction for your club.”
James added: “Sometimes big companies don’t understand ‘small’ or ‘local’. Have you ever dreaded calling customer support just to get the smallest of problem resolved? I hate how 30 minutes later I am still listening to on-hold music on its 100th loop. I am sure your time is just as important as mine, and I promise not to waste it.
“But the biggest issue for most clubs/charities will always be price. We are the cheapest while offering the biggest value. We operate a 15% commission fee on all tickets sold through our online ticket selling system. But we don’t charge for anything else.
“We don’t charge transaction fees. We have no monthly or yearly recurring charges. We have no hidden fees, and we have no VAT charges.
“Then there are the benefits. Top of the list is simplicity. It’s no good if it takes too much effort to use. That's why it is highly customisable and a highly automated process. The most complex part is the setup, which we do.
“The software that has been created allows local clubs, charities and societies the ability to run their local lotto online with no setup fee required.
“The design, the idea and the concept was born from helping St. Brendan’s out with their local lotto. The idea was not to make it 21st century but to take the idea of writing a ticket and creating extra revenues.”
James said some of the clubs who joined were suspended because of the Covid-19 shutdown but they are slowly coming back.
“We have about 25 that are active,” he said, and about 40 in total and we are getting new guys all the time.”
The LottoRaiser system has been endorsed by many clubs.
Michael Callaghan of Breaffy GAA Club Development said: “After considering a number of alternatives Breaffy GAA decided to go with LottoRaiser to help us secure lotto sales online.
“James and the team have been very good to work with and are always available to help with any questions or issues.
“The implementation was very easy and it provides another fundraising option for the club. It gives our supporters and members, who live outside the community, the opportunity to continue to support Breaffy GAA on a regular basis.
“We would recommend LottoRaiser to any other clubs or organisations considering their online options.”
Peter Flynn of Westport United Community Development Ltd. added: “After considering many options we eventually decided to go with LottoRaiser to help us secure lotto sales online.
“This has proved to be a great choice with James very easy to work with and always available to assist us with any requests. We would definitely recommend LottoRaiser to any other clubs or organisations considering going down this road.”
Dr. Jerry Cowley, of Mulranny Day Centre Housing CLG, said: “We depend on voluntary fundraising to a great extent and we needed to raise our profile to generate more revenue for our cause.
“James created LottoRaiser to do just that for us and we couldn't have been more pleased with the result. LottoRaiser is continuing to raise much needed funds for our charity and we look forward to this continuing to increase even more over time.”
More details on LottoRaiser can be found on https://www.lottoraiser.ie/ or James Grimshaw can be contacted on (087) 4119079.