Only one in six people has felt the impact of the National Lottery despite millions of pounds being poured into Brighton and Hove, Camelot admitted.
More than 85 per cent of people said they could not name a single project that had benefited from the £18 million injected into community projects across the city.
A bid to raise awareness of the work paid for by the lottery has been launched, citing a £5,000 grant to Brighton and Hove Cricket Club, which paid for an artificial pitch.
Lottery cash has also gone to The Brighton Singers to promote choral music and to schools.
A Camelot spokesman said there was a "major gulf" in understanding how much the city, and Sussex as a whole, had received and where the money had gone.
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