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.