Nationale Postcode Loterij

The Nationale Postcode Loterij (National Postcode Lottery) is the biggest charity lottery in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1989 by Novamedia, a marketing agency that sets up and runs charity lotteries. As required by the Dutch government, forty percent of the proceeds of this lottery are donated amongst 81 charities, which, in 2010 amounted to over 270 million euros. Prize winners are the lot owners whose postal code, a code that forms part of the winners' residential address, has been drawn. Hence even if not participating one may still find out that one would have won had one played. Anticipations of post-decisional regret influence decisions to play the Postcode lottery. Until 2012 it was prohibited to use the postal code for commercial purposes, and in that year, the government allowed the postal code to be used commercially. Novamedia has expanded the Postcode Lottery format in several European countries: 2015: Svenska Postkodlotteriet in Sweden, People’s Postcode Lottery in Great Britain. 2016: Deutsche Postcode Lotterie in Germany. 2018: Norsk Postkodelotteri in Norway.