Circumstances in which you do not need a lottery operating licence
There are some circumstances in which you do
not need a lottery operating licence:
small society lottery
incidental
non-commercial lottery
private society
lottery
Prize competitions and free draws
You do not need a licence to operate prize
competitions and free draws. More information is available
in our detailed advice
Prize competitions and free draws - The requirements of the
Gambling Act 2005 - December 2009. You should seek
independent legal advice to confirm that your competition is
lawful.
Fundraising
You can use certain types of lotteries to
raise funds for good causes, for example societies, clubs and
schools as well as registered charities. Read our introductory
leaflet on
Running a
lottery - November 2009, which sets
out the available options or follow the links below for detailed
information:
Small society lottery
The society in question must be set up for
non-commercial purposes eg sports, cultural or charitable. There is
a top limit of £20,000 in ticket sales. If you belong to a society
or club that wants to run regular lottery draws or raffles, you can
register with your local licensing authority to run a small society
lottery. A fee will apply.
Promoting society and local authority lotteries - November 2009
contains in-depth guidance on the rules for small society
lotteries.
Incidental
non-commercial lottery
These are held at non-commercial events,
such as school fetes etc. All the sales and the draw must take
place during the main event, which may last more than a single day.
Prizes cannot total more than £500. At such events where any
money raised is not for private gain, you can run a
non-commercial lottery without a licence. No more than £100 may be
spent on expenses.
Organising
small lotteries - November 2009 contains in-depth
guidance on the rules for non-commercial lotteries.
Private society lottery
Any group or society, except those set up for gambling, and
where the proceeds of the lottery go to the purposes of the
society. If you run or are a member of a private society, as
long as that society has not been formed for gambling, you can run
a lottery or raffle for the benefit of that society without an
operating licence from the Commission. Tickets can only be sold to
members of the private society or guests on their premises.
Organising small lotteries - November
2009 contains in-depth guidance on
the rules for private society lotteries.
Work, residents' and customer lotteries
Work lottery
These can only be run and played by colleagues at a
particular place of work, but this type of lottery cannot make a
profit so is unsuitable for fundraising. You can run a lottery for
your employees at a single set of work premises without an
operating licence from the Gambling Commission, unless your
workplace is subject to a gambling premises licence. All of the
proceeds from ticket sales must be spent on prizes or
expenses.
Organising small lotteries - November
2009 contains in-depth guidance on
the rules for work lotteries.
Residents’ lottery
These can only be run and played by people living at a
particular address, but this type of lottery cannot make a profit
so is unsuitable for fundraising. You can run a lottery for the
residents living in a single set of premises without a Gambling
Commission licence. All of the proceeds must be spent on prizes or
expenses.
Organising small lotteries - November
2009 contains in-depth guidance on
the rules for residents' lotteries.
Customer lottery
These can only be run by a business, at its own premises and for
its own customers. No prize can be more than £50 in value. This
type of lottery cannot make a profit, and so is unsuitable for
fundraising.
If you run a business and would like to run a lottery by
selling tickets to customers on your business premises you can do
so without an operating licence from the Gambling Commission,
unless your business is subject to a gambling premises licence. All
of the proceeds (ticket sales) must be spent on prizes and
expenses, there can be no profit.
Organising small lotteries - November
2009 contains in-depth guidance on
the rules for customer lotteries.
Lottery ticket machines
You can sell tickets in a society lottery or
private society lottery by means of a ‘paper’ lottery ticket
vending machine.
Organising
small lotteries - November 2009 and
Promoting society and local authority lotteries - November 2009 contain details on
where and to whom you can sell tickets for each kind of
lottery.
You do not need an additional licence to
operate or supply these machines.
Lottery syndicates
You do not need a licence if
you, as the organiser of a lottery syndicate purchase
tickets from a lottery and distribute your winnings amongst the
syndicate members. If you, as a syndicate organiser, offer to
purchase tickets on behalf of syndicate members' then you will be
promoting a lottery and you will need a licence from the Commission
or a registration with your local authority.