How Omaze donated £5.25m to Age UK with one Lake District house

In late 2024, Omaze sold tickets for a £4m Lake District house. The draw ran for six weeks, closed on Boxing Day, and donated £5.25m to Age UK on 2 January 2025. Omaze called it its biggest ever raise for a charity partner when it announced the result in January 2025, and on the figures published since it remains Omaze's highest single draw charity donation in the UK. It is recorded in Age UK's own annual accounts as a discrete fundraising line.

The prize was a four-bedroom property at Coniston Water called Deer Close. The winner was Hannah Drury, a primary school music teacher from Frome who had taken out a £25 monthly Omaze subscription days before the draw closed. She kept the house. She now lets it through Sykes Cottages.

The headline figure is well documented. What it represents in practice for Age UK, for Omaze, for the wider sector, and for any charity considering a similar partnership, is the work of the rest of this case study. The mechanic is a free entry prize draw, which sits outside the Gambling Commission framework that governs society lotteries. The numbers below set out where the £5.25m came from, what Omaze retains under its own model, and what the regulatory shift now under way may mean for similar deals.

At a glance

• Donation to Age UK: £5,250,000 (net charitable donation, per Age UK's published 2024/25 accounts)
• Implied gross ticket revenue: approximately £30.9m (TPDC calculation from Omaze's stated 17% gross share, not a figure Omaze has disclosed)
• Top prize: Deer Close, a £4m four-bedroom house at Coniston Water, plus £250,000 cash and approximately £160,000 in furnishings
• Ticket pricing: £10 (15 entries), £25 (40 entries), £50 (85 entries), £150 (320 entries) one-off; or £10, £25, £50 monthly subscriptions
• Free entry route: by post, to Civica Election Services, equal chance of winning
• Draw window: 14 November 2024 to 26 December 2024 (online), 31 December 2024 (postal)
• Grand prize draw date: 2 January 2025
• Winner: Hannah Drury, 42, music teacher, Frome, Somerset
• Charity beneficiary: Age UK (charity numbers 1128267 in England and Wales, SC039453 in Scotland)
• Operator: Omaze UK Limited (founding signatory of the DCMS Voluntary Code, May 2026)

What the draw was

Omaze ran the Lake District III draw on its own platform, omaze.co.uk. Entrants paid for ticket bundles or took a monthly subscription. A free postal entry route was available to anyone who wrote in, giving non-paying entrants an equal chance of winning. The legal basis for running the draw without a Gambling Commission licence is the free entry requirement: as long as paid and free entries are treated identically in the draw, the activity is a prize draw under UK law, not a lottery.

The draw was structured in stages. A Flash draw (£250,000 cash prize) ran in the first three days. An Early Bird draw (cash prizes up to £500,000) closed on 8 December 2024. Gift card and Dream Pass drawings ran through December. The grand prize draw, for the house itself, closed on 26 December for online entries and 31 December for postal entries. The grand prize winner was drawn on 2 January 2025.

The donation to Age UK was calculated on the standard Omaze formula in place since November 2023: 17% of every monetary payment, with a guaranteed minimum donation of £1m per draw. At £5.25m, this draw far exceeded the minimum. Omaze covered the cost of the property, all marketing, the platform, prize fulfilment, customer service, legal and compliance, and its own profit margin out of the remaining 83% of gross ticket revenue.

The £4m house and the music teacher who won it

Deer Close sits on the western shore of Coniston Water in Cumbria. Omaze redeveloped the property before listing it as the prize. Four bedrooms. A spa with a Himalayan salt wall. A gym. A rainfall shower. A wood-fired hot tub. A private jetty. A boathouse. A summerhouse. Six acres of private woodland with 200 metres of lake frontage. Omaze valued the property at £4m and added £250,000 in cash to cover settling costs.

Hannah Drury is 42. She teaches music at a primary school in Frome, Somerset, has done so for twenty years, and trained as an operatic soprano. Her husband Rupert is also a music teacher and an operatic tenor. She took out a £25 Omaze subscription in late December 2024, which converted to a winning entry on 2 January 2025.

She told the Times and Star (Bridget Dempsey):

Knowing our children are going to be secure for the rest of their lives is the best feeling.

She kept the house. She did not move to Coniston full time and did not sell the property. She and her husband decided to run Deer Close as a holiday let. At the time of writing it is bookable through Sykes Cottages, having welcomed its first guests in January 2026.

This outcome matters for how the case study should be read. Omaze publishes winner videos and partner stories to translate a large donation figure into something a donor base can recognise. The winner is the public face of the model. Without a credible winner story (real person, real life change, real photographs), the £5.25m figure is harder to motivate against the next ticket purchase.

What £5.25m funded for Age UK

Age UK's stated cost ratio for its core friendship and support services is that £1m funds 2 million minutes of service delivered. The £5.25m donation therefore funds over 10 million minutes of Age UK's friendship, social activity and practical support to older people. This figure (rounded to "10 million minutes") appears in every Age UK communication about the partnership and on Omaze's own winner page.

The named services that benefit are Age UK's Telephone Friendship Service (a free weekly call service matching older people experiencing loneliness with trained volunteers) and Age UK's network of local branches across England and Wales. The split between national service funding and local branch funding has not been publicly disclosed.

Paul Farmer was Age UK's Chief Executive at the time of the draw. His statement on the Omaze partnership page:

We can't thank Omaze enough for their incredible support. The funds raised will enable Age UK to provide over 10 million minutes of vital friendship, social activities and practical support, both locally and nationally, to older people who need them most.

Age UK's total income in 2024/25 was £132m, against expenditure of £135m. The accounts record a deficit of approximately £3m, the third consecutive operating deficit, with a fourth projected for 2025/26 as Age UK continues a planned period of strategic investment. The grants, corporates and trusts income line was £30.1m in 2024/25, up from £18.2m the year before. Civil Society's Rob Preston (8 January 2026) reported that the Omaze raise is the dominant explanation for that £11.9m increase. The £5.25m represents around 4% of Age UK's total income and around 17% of the grants, corporates and trusts category.

Ken Bruce MBE, the Age UK Ambassador who fronted the draw, told the Times and Star (Jimmy Moorhouse):

Age UK has been close to my heart for years. I've seen first-hand how they bring vital friendship and support to older people who feel alone and forgotten.

For Age UK, the partnership produces concentrated income over a defined window. For a comparable result through retail, legacies or grants, the charity would need months or years of operational effort. Omaze compresses that timeline, in exchange for keeping the majority share of ticket revenue.

How Omaze's commercial model works

Omaze pays 17% of gross ticket revenue to the charity partner. There is a guaranteed minimum donation of £1m per draw regardless of ticket sales. Omaze covers the cost of the property, marketing, platform operations, customer service, legal and compliance, and retains profit out of the remaining 83%.

This is a change from the earlier model. Until November 2023, Omaze paid 80% of net proceeds to the charity. "Net proceeds" was defined by Omaze and not externally audited; the deductions covered prize costs and marketing before the 80% calculation. Omaze argued the new 17% of gross formula produces more for charities in absolute terms because the percentage applies to a much larger revenue base. James Oakes, Omaze's Chief International Officer, summarised the position in Charity Times (Joe Lepper, 17 November 2023):

While 17% doesn't sound as good as 80%, it amounts to more for our charity partners. It's a smaller percentage of a much bigger pie.

The £5.25m to Age UK from a single six-week draw supports that argument in absolute terms. The implied gross revenue (approximately £30.9m, a TPDC calculation from 17% being £5.25m) and the approximately £25.6m Omaze would retain for its operation (the implied 83% of that same inferred gross) also illustrate the scale of what the new percentage applies to.

The model has attracted sector criticism. The Lotteries Council (chair Tony Vick) has argued that the structure creates unequal treatment between commercial prize draws and licensed society lotteries, which must contribute at least 20% to good causes and are capped at £50m in annual ticket sales with prizes capped at £500,000. Omaze has no equivalent caps. Matt Zarb-Cousin, director of Clean Up Gambling, told City AM (Anna Moloney, 7 October 2024):

I think this is a loophole that's been pretty brazenly exploited.

Research commissioned by the Lotteries Council and reported in Civil Society (Chongyang Zhang, 31 March 2025) found that only 1 in 10 UK adults recognise Omaze as an unregulated product. More than a third believe it is regulated in the same way as a charity lottery.

The Advertising Standards Authority ruled against Omaze in October 2020 (ruling reference G20-1073875) on the prominence of the free postal entry route. The ASA found that the paid entry options were presented in a much larger and more prominent way than the postal option, which appeared as a small link. Omaze was required to remedy this in all future advertising. Current draw pages make the postal entry route more visible, although the relative emphasis between paid and free entry remains a recurring point of sector debate.

The regulatory shift now under way

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport published a Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators on 20 November 2025, which came into effect on 20 May 2026. Omaze is a founding signatory.

The Code requires:

• Transparent disclosure of charitable contributions and the frequency with which they are made
• Age verification (18 or over)
• A £250 monthly credit card spending cap per player, zero credit card payments for instant win draws
• Player-set spend limits (including £0)
• Temporary account suspension (minimum six months) and permanent closure on request
• Proportionate harm monitoring and intervention
• Equal chance of winning for free and paid entries
• Independent oversight of draws

The Code does not set a minimum charitable contribution percentage. It also does not bring prize draws under the Gambling Commission or the Gambling Act.

Separately, the Fundraising Regulator proposed in March 2026 a phased minimum charitable contribution for prize draw operators: 10% from 2026/27, 15% from 2027/28, and 20% from 2028/29. Omaze's current 17% sits above the first two phases of that proposal but below the 2028/29 target. If the Fundraising Regulator's proposal is adopted in full, the gap between the prize draw and society lottery regimes narrows substantially.

For charities considering a partnership with a commercial prize draw operator, the regulatory direction of travel is now clear: greater transparency on the charitable share, more disclosure of how much reaches the cause, and gradual pressure toward minimum percentages. Charity teams entering a multi-year arrangement with an operator should expect the disclosed percentages to be scrutinised, and the operator's compliance with the Code to be a question their own trustees will need to be able to answer.

What charity teams should take from this

Three lessons for any charity considering a commercial prize draw partnership.

1. The net donation is the figure that matters, and it is not the same as gross ticket revenue. Headline numbers in commercial prize draw partnerships are sometimes the gross, sometimes the net, and sometimes a guaranteed minimum the operator has committed to regardless of actual ticket sales. Charity boards should ask for the gross ticket revenue, the contractual percentage going to charity, the guaranteed minimum, and the projected absolute figure on conservative assumptions. The Age UK £5.25m figure is the net charitable donation, and Age UK's annual accounts itemise it on that basis.

2. The operator brings scale that the charity cannot generate alone. Age UK is one of the largest charity brands in the UK and has the supporter base, the press relationships, and the operational capability to run substantial fundraising campaigns. Even so, £5.25m in six weeks from a single channel is more than most UK charities raise in a year from any one source. What Omaze sells the charity is concentrated reach: a £4m prize, mass market advertising, and an own platform funnel that mobilises Omaze's existing player base. The 83% Omaze retains is the cost of that scale. One caveat charity teams should note is that the entrant relationship in the Omaze model belongs to Omaze, not the charity; how many entrants, if any, become contactable supporters of the charity is not disclosed in any public source.

3. The regulatory environment is changing, and the disclosed percentage will be scrutinised. The DCMS Voluntary Code is now active. The Fundraising Regulator has proposed phased minimum percentages rising to 20% by 2028/29. A charity entering a partnership in 2026 should expect that the percentage disclosed at the start of the relationship will be the subject of public attention, sector commentary, and potentially regulatory pressure over the contract's life. Multi-year commitments should be structured with this trajectory in mind.

For a charity that lacks the scale to attract a commercial prize draw partner, the standard charity prize draw route (smaller prize, lower ticket price, charity controlled platform) typically returns a much higher percentage of revenue to the cause. The trade-off between absolute donation and percentage return is a board level decision, not a fundraising department one.

What this case study doesn't claim

The case study does not claim that Omaze's commercial share is excessive or insufficient. The 17% of gross structure is the disclosed model and was accepted by Age UK as the basis for the partnership. The £5.25m is, on the figures published since, Omaze's largest single draw charitable donation in the UK, and Age UK has stated publicly that the funds will support specific named services.

What the case study does claim is that the headline figure is one number in a longer chain, and that charity teams considering similar partnerships should understand the full mechanics, the operator's commercial structure, the regulatory direction of travel, and the trade-off between absolute donation and percentage return. The Omaze model is lawful, well-documented, and has produced real charitable income at scale. It is also the subject of active regulatory attention, and charity teams entering similar arrangements should expect that attention to grow.

Sources

Verified 12 June 2026:

• Age UK Omaze partnership page: ageuk.org.uk/get-involved/omaze/
• Omaze winner announcement: omaze.co.uk/blogs/news/meet-the-lake-district-house-draw-winners-1
• Omaze Lake District III experience rules: omaze.co.uk/pages/experience-rules-lake-district-iii
• Omaze Age UK partnership page (Paul Farmer quote): omaze.co.uk/pages/age-uk
• Omaze about page (cumulative UK total): omaze.co.uk/pages/about-omaze
• Civil Society News, Rob Preston (8 January 2026, Age UK accounts): civilsociety.co.uk/news/age-uk-records-fundraising-spike-but-plans-fourth-straight-deficit.html
• Civil Society News, Rob Preston (20 November 2025, DCMS Code): civilsociety.co.uk/news/omaze-signs-up-to-government-voluntary-code-for-prize-draw-operators.html
• Civil Society News, Emily Moss (17 March 2026, Fundraising Regulator proposal): civilsociety.co.uk/news/regulator-proposes-minimum-charity-contribution-prize-draws.html
• Civil Society News, Chongyang Zhang (31 March 2025, Lotteries Council research): civilsociety.co.uk/news/report-calls-for-prize-draws-such-as-omaze-to-be-regulated-like-charity-lotteries.html
• Civil Society News, Sam Wait (21 March 2023, model context): civilsociety.co.uk/news/how-prize-draw-firm-omaze-raised-11-5m-for-charities-in-two-years.html
• Charity Times, Joe Lepper (17 November 2023, model change): charitytimes.com/ct/Omaze-guarantees-1m-donation-to-charity.php
• City AM, Anna Moloney (7 October 2024, commercial model analysis): cityam.com/win-a-dream-house-for-10-how-omaze-found-controversial-success-in-the-uk/
• New Statesman, Hollie Wright (6 April 2026, critical examination): newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2026/04/is-omaze-too-good-to-be-true
• Times and Star, Bridget Dempsey (winner profile): timesandstar.co.uk/news/25692190.omaze-million-pound-house-draw-winner-talks-dream-lake-district-home/
• Times and Star, Jimmy Moorhouse (launch coverage): timesandstar.co.uk/news/24723645.lake-district-ken-bruce-backs-huge-prize-draw-age-uk/
• UK Fundraising, Melanie May (9 August 2024, London Air Ambulance context): fundraising.co.uk/2024/08/09/omaze-house-draw-raises-record-breaking-4mn-for-londons-air-ambulance-charity/
• ASA ruling G20-1073875 (7 October 2020): asa.org.uk/rulings/omaze-inc-g20-1073875-omaze-inc.html
• DCMS Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators: gov.uk/government/publications/voluntary-code-of-good-practice-for-prize-draw-operators/voluntary-code-of-good-practice-for-prize-draw-operators
• Sykes Cottages (Deer Close holiday let): sykescottages.co.uk/cottage/Lake-District-Cumbria-The-Lake-District-Coniston-Water/Deer-Close-1171316.html
• Cumbria Crack (launch, 14 November 2024): cumbriacrack.com/2024/11/14/win-a-4-million-lake-district-house-in-prize-draw/
• Cumbria Crack (winner, 10 January 2025): cumbriacrack.com/2025/01/10/teacher-wins-4-million-lake-district-house/