Online Raffle Funds Hospitals, Creates Millionaires

0:00Every month, Glenn Craig, from the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation, calls Raffle winners to deliver life-changing news. Their 50-50 All-Mine lottery has doled out massive jackpots, like $6.4 million last year, funding hospitals across Northwest, Ontario. Over five years, it's raised more than $94 million in prizes while pulling in huge sales. The Raffle launched early in 2021 and exploded during the pandemic, creating three dozen millionaires. By keeping operations lean with just three full-time staff, they direct more money to hospital needs, including $10 million in new emergency, Department Gear last year alone. Winners often break down in tears during those calls, like one couple reuniting with family after six years. Other hospitals envy the success, with places in Ottawa and Sudbury launching their own versions to battle deficits and hallway medicine amid tight, provincial funding. Greater changes led people by tickets online anywhere in Ontario, feeling jackpots that

1:03grow in real time. Tech firms like Ottawa-based Bump handle the digital side, powering lotteries for sports teams and charities across North America. This model has leveled up hospital fundraising, but experts caution it might normalize gambling. Still, as sure falls grow, these raffles keep care improving one big win at a time. This has been Toronto News Today, powered by AI. I'm Corey with The Story.