12.Lotteries, prize competitions and free draws
If you intend to run a lottery, prize competition or free draw for charitable purposes, you need to follow any gambling regulations that may apply, including laws relating to the
The law in England, Wales and Scotland
Lotteries include raffles, tombolas, sweepstakes and some other activities.
In the law of England, Wales and Scotland, a
- You must pay to enter the game.
- There is always at least one prize.
- Prizes are awarded purely by chance.
The Gambling Act 2005 created six categories of
- Private
lotteries , including:- private-society
lotteries ; - work
lotteries ; and - residents’
lotteries .
- private-society
Lotteries held at events (known as ‘incidentallotteries ’).- Customer
lotteries . (Please note that, as customerlotteries cannot make a profit, they are not suitable for fundraising.) - Small-society
lotteries . - Large-society
lotteries . - Local-authority
lotteries . (These are run by local authorities and so are outside the scope of the code.)
Each type of
A
For
Sometimes, large charitable institutions outsource part of the work involved in running large-society
The law in Northern Ireland
Lotteries in Northern Ireland must meet the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries (NI) Order 1985, as amended by the Betting and Lotteries (NI) Order 1994 and as added to by the Lotteries Regulations.
There is no legal definition of a
Under the order, all
- small
lotteries which are a small part of exempt entertainment (that is, entertainment which does not need a licence); - private
lotteries ; - society
lotteries ; or - part of the National
Lottery .
Each type of
12.1.Lotteries – general responsibilities
You must meet the relevant national legal requirements for lotteries.
You must make sure you are not running an illegal lottery.
To run an exempt lottery (one which does not need a licence), you must meet the conditions set out in law.
If you need to hold a licence for the type of lottery you are running you must meet the relevant codes of practice, licence conditions, and conditions set out in law and relevant regulations.
In England, Wales and Scotland, if you hold a licence for the type of lottery you are running, you must tell the Gambling Commission about any matters that will have a significant effect on your organisation or that the Gambling Commission would reasonably need to be aware of when carrying out its duties. For more information on what you need to tell the Gambling Commission about, see its licence conditions and codes of practice.
12.2.Role of the promoter
The designated individual
By law, the
12.3.Considerations other than the Gambling Act
If you are a society using a premium phone line to allow people to enter your lotteries, you must meet the code of practice published by the PSA (the independent regulator of premium-rate services in the UK). A number of sections of its code are relevant to
If you are promoting society lotteries, you must meet the Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct and Promotional Marketing (CAP code) and the Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP code), including:
- CAP - 08 Promotional marketing;
- CAP - 16 Gambling;
- CAP - 17
Lotteries ; - BCAP - 17 Gambling; and
- BCAP - 18
Lotteries .
In Northern Ireland, you must not send tickets that have been sold for a private or society lottery through the post.
12.4.The draw
The draw must be witnessed and you should make a record of the result.
You must include all paid-for, valid ticket entries in the draw.
If you are going to transfer late entries to the next draw, you must be clear about this when you sell the ticket.
If, for any reason, the draw date needs to be delayed from that shown on the ticket, you must take all reasonable steps to make sure that everyone who has bought a ticket knows about the change, and you must discuss it with the issuer of the licence.
12.5.Procedure after the draw
You must return all filled-in ticket stubs and payments to the
You must not make details of winners public without their permission.
You must contact all winners within seven days of the draw.
You must make all reasonable efforts to award prizes to the holders of winning tickets.
12.6.Prize competitions and free draws
England, Wales and Scotland
The Gambling Act does not apply to prize competitions and free draws as long as they meet the conditions set out in the act. The Gambling Commission has no regulatory responsibilities relating to genuine prize competitions and free draws, but it does monitor the boundary between them and lotteries to make sure that schemes claiming to be prize competitions or free draws are not illegal lotteries.
To be a prize competition you must make sure that anyone taking part has a level of knowledge or judgement or displays an element of skill that will prevent a significant proportion of people from entering or from winning a prize.
To be a free draw the arrangement must either be completely free to enter or have a free method of entry. This free method of entry must either be a letter sent by ordinary post (first-class or second-class post) or another method of communication that is no more expensive and no less convenient than the paid method. The system for allocating prizes must not distinguish between entries made through the free or the paid method of entry.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland operates under rules preventing any form of purchase that allows you to enter a prize draw. Often, promoters running UK-wide prize draws will exclude people in Northern Ireland from the promotion. For Northern Ireland prize draws, you must either exclude people who live in Northern Ireland or find a ‘no-purchase necessary’ way to promote the prize draw in Northern Ireland.
- Gambling Commission: Fundraising, raffles and lotteries
- Gambling Commission: Free draws and prize competitions