Gambling sectors

About lotteries

Lotteries are arrangements where people pay to participate for the chance of winning a prize. Lotteries are defined by the Gambling Act 2005 as either ‘simple’ or ‘complex’.

A simple lottery is where:

  • people are required to pay to take part
  • one or more prizes are allocated to the participants
  • prizes are allocated wholly by chance.

A complex lottery is where:

  • people are required to pay to take part  
  • one or more prizes are allocated to the participants
  • prizes are allocated by a series of processes and the first of these processes relies wholly on chance.

Raffles, tombolas, and sweepstakes are all types of lottery. Free draws and prize competitions are not types of lottery.

Lotteries differ from other types of gambling activity as the minimum participation age is 16, as opposed to 18 for other types of gambling.

Lotteries can not be run for private or commercial gain.

There are several types of lottery, some of which require a licence from the Gambling Commission:


Lotteries can be run by remote means.

The National Lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission. More information about the National Lottery can be found on their website.

More information about lotteries is available in Gambling Industry Statistics 2008/09.