Thank you for supporting Newcastle Dog & Cat Shelter by playing our lottery.
Due to changes in our team, we are temporarily pausing our lottery, effective from 31st March 2026.
If you’re able to continue supporting us during this period, you will have a huge impact on animals currently in our care; helping to provide things like daily meals, warm bedding, and essential veterinary treatment.
As a thank you for bearing with us, we will be adding additional prizes to the next draw – we’ll let you know when that will be.
We appreciate that you may have some questions about this situation, so have prepared some FAQs below:
Why is the lottery being paused?
Due to recent changes in our team, we need to update the named individuals on our Gambling Commission licence.
Whilst we work with the Gambling Commission to make these updates, they have asked us to pause entries into our lottery.
For clarity, our licence with the Gambling Commission remains in good standing. We simply need to make some administrative changes to reflect changes in our team.
Why can’t you just keep running it?
Lotteries are a regulated product, so we are only able to run with the permission of the Gambling Commission.
If we continued to run during this period, we would be operating illegally and that clearly isn’t something that we can do as a respected charity.
In order to ensure that we’re around to care for cats and dogs for years to come, we unfortunately have to take a short pause from the lottery.
What will happen to my entry?
Your lottery entry will be temporarily paused, whilst we make the necessary updates to our Gambling Commission licence.
Once these updates are made, your entry will automatically resume. As a thank you, we will be adding some additional prizes to our next lottery draw!
In the meantime, your weekly entry fee will be used to support dogs and cats who need it the most.
What impact will my support have?
Your continued support will help us ensure that we can still provide our animals with the vital care that they need and deserve. It costs £25 a day to care for a single animal and alongside vet bills, these costs can mount up quickly. For example, Angelica, a 2 year old Cane Corso who was rehomed in January 2026 stayed with us for over 400 days, meaning her total cost of care was over £10,000. This was for a single animal. Read More about Angelica HERE.
Do I have a choice?
We hope that you will continue to support Newcastle Dog & Cat Shelter throughout this period, as your support is a lifeline for dogs and cats in our care.
However, if you would like to cancel then you can do so by following these steps:
If you’re paying via your mobile phone or Direct Debit, then you can visit https://help.givecircle.com and choose ‘Manage Entry’ to cancel your support.
If you’re paying via standing order, then you can cancel the standing order in your banking app.
If you face any challenges whilst trying to cancel your entry, please contact our lottery provider GiveCircle via help@givecircle.com
When will the lottery come back?
We are working with the Gambling Commission to restore the lottery as soon as possible.
The Gambling Commission has advised us that adding new individuals to our lottery normally takes 8 weeks.
What will happen to prizes?
If you are lucky enough to have won a prize in a previous week’s lottery, then this prize will remain valid and can be claimed via https://help.givecircle.com
Whilst the lottery is paused, you will unfortunately not be able to win any prizes. However, we will be adding additional prizes to the next lottery draw as a big thank you for continuing to support us during this period.
I have another question
We’re very happy to help with any other questions. You can contact us at friends@dogandcatshelter.com