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Directions to the Gambling Commission under Section 11 of the National Lottery etc. Act 1993

Interpretation

1. In these directions-

"the Act" means the National Lottery etc. Act 1993;

"the Commission" means the Gambling Commission;

"the constituent lottery" means a lottery that forms part of the National Lottery;

"draw", in relation to a lottery, includes any process by which a prize in the lottery is allocated;

“Game” is as defined in the prevailing Licence (see footnote 1);

“Gross Value of Ticket Sales” is as defined in the prevailing Licence (see footnote 1);

"licensee" means any person who holds a licence granted under sections 5 or 6 of the Act;

“Licensee Revenue” is as defined in the prevailing Licence (see footnote 1);

"NLDF" means the National Lottery Distribution Fund;

“entry” means an entry to any licensed National Lottery Game, by any means;

“Prize” is as defined in the prevailing Licence (see footnote 1);

“promotional prize activity” is defined as Prizes which are awarded according to a specific feature of a Game which is designed for the purposes of promoting the National Lottery or any other goods or services in a manner which distinguishes them from the Prizes available in the ordinary course of operating that Game; and

"Secretary of State" means the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

The directions given to the Gambling Commission by the Secretary of State on 5 January 2022 are revoked.

Types of lottery

2. The Commission shall exercise its functions under sections 5 and 6 of the Act in such a manner as to ensure that no licence is granted which authorises the promotion of any lottery or lotteries of any description which in the opinion of the Commission:

  • encourage persons to participate excessively in such lotteries; or
  • do not allow for sufficient controls to prevent persons who have not attained the age of 18 years from participating in such lotteries.

3. The Commission shall exercise its functions under section 6 of the Act in such a manner as to ensure no licence is granted which allows more than two draws to take place in any period of two hours, save and except for the EuroMillions draws only for which a maximum of four draws are permitted in any two hour period. This applies irrespective of whether the draws are made in the same or different lotteries authorised to be promoted under the licence.

4. The Commission shall exercise its functions under section 6 of the Act in such a manner to ensure that no licence is granted where the effect would be to allow more than one draw to take place in any period of one hour where the draws are made in associated lotteries. For the purposes of this direction two lotteries promoted under separate licences under section 6 of the Act are to be treated as associated lotteries where:

  • one lottery is of the same description as the other lottery (apart from any variation with respect to the time when any draw in the lottery can take place); or
  • in the opinion of the Commission, one lottery is of the same description as the other lottery except for a minor variation in the timing, prize structure, entry price or some other aspect of the lotteries.

5. But directions 3 and 4 shall not apply to any lottery where each prize in the lottery:

  • is allocated to an entry before any entry is sold; or
  • is pre-determined at the point of entry.

Limit on ticket prices

6. The Commission shall exercise its functions under section 5 and 6 in such a manner as to ensure that no licence is granted which authorises the promotion of a lottery, the price of entry for which is, in the opinion of the Commission, unreasonably high.

Unclaimed prizes

7.The Commission shall:

  • exercise its functions under sections 5 and 6 of the Act in such a manner as to ensure that the rules of every constituent lottery provide for a period for claiming prizes which in the opinion of the Commission is reasonable in order to allow a claim for a prize to be made; and
  • exercise its powers under section 5 of the Act to include a condition in the licence granted under section 5 of the Act which provides that all prizes which have not been claimed in accordance with the rules of the relevant constituent lottery are paid to the Secretary of State.

Further conditions in licences

8. The Commission shall exercise its functions under section 7 to include in the licence granted under section 5 of the Act or, as appropriate, in licences granted under section 6 of the Act, conditions which have the following effects:

  • that the Commission and persons authorised by the Commission will have the powers to inspect all forms of records relevant to Lottery contracts or operations held by
    • any licensee; or
    • any contractor of any such licensee who in the opinion of the Commission is a significant contractor.
  • that the Commission has the power to approve any party to a contract with any licensee where in the opinion of the Commission the contract is significant;
  • that information for participants as to whether they have won a prize in any constituent lottery is available without any payment to the licensee being required and without undue inconvenience to the participant;
  • that no entry in a constituent lottery is given away free or sold for less than the full price applicable in accordance with the rules of the relevant constituent lottery (whether in connection with the advertisement or marketing of the National Lottery or any constituent lottery or otherwise) unless:
    • a payment reflecting the full price of the entry is made, whether by a licensee or another person;
    • the price of the entry applicable in accordance with the rules of the relevant constituent lottery is counted in full in the value of sales when calculating the licensee's ‘Gross Value of Ticket Sales and Licensee Revenue’ in accordance with the terms of the licence granted under section 5 of the Act; or
    • subject to direction 9, the Commission has given its consent;
  • that the identity of any person who has won a prize in a constituent lottery shall not be disclosed without the consent of that person, unless required by law. For the purpose of this direction 8(e), where a ticket in a constituent lottery is presented by a player to a retailer to ascertain whether that ticket is a prize-winner, or to claim a prize, a sound made by a lottery terminal to indicate that a winning ticket has been presented and/or the presentation of a prize entitlement message will not of itself constitute disclosure of a person's identity; and
  • that information as to the percentages of the NLDF which are allocated for the good causes referred to in paragraphs (a) to (f) of section 22(3) of the Act as it has effect from time to time is available at places where tickets in constituent lotteries are sold.

9. For the purpose of direction 8(d)(iii) the Commission shall only consent to a proposal to giveaway free entries or sell entries for less than full price if it is satisfied that:

  • the proposal will not encourage excessive or underage play; and
  • the proposal is likely to increase overall returns to good causes.

Financial penalties

10.In the exercise of its functions under section 10A of the Act, the Commission shall act in accordance with its published Enforcement Policy.

Performance standards

11.The Commission shall establish and publish appropriate performance standards in respect of its functions under sections 5 to 10A of the Act. Such performance standards should, in particular, relate to the Commission's relationship with licensees and the public. The Commission shall report its performance against those standards in the annual report it is required to make by section 14 of the Act.

Raising public awareness

12.The Commission shall facilitate the operation of a body whose purpose shall be to raise positive public awareness of and support for the benefits of the distribution of funding from the proceeds of the National Lottery, with the aim of helping to maximise returns to good causes from the proceeds of the National Lottery.

13.The Commission shall exercise its functions in respect of any licence granted under section 5 of the Act such that any amount deducted in calculating any adjustment to the sum that is payable under section 5(6) of the Act which is for the purposes of any promotional prize activity to be undertaken by the licensee shall:

  • be subject to the consent of the Commission;
  • not exceed, in any licence year, the amount of unclaimed prizes paid to the Secretary of State in accordance with Direction 7(b) in the previous licence year pro-rata’d to reflect the number months in the licence year; and
  • may be subject to repayment on such terms as the Commission shall require.

On behalf of the Secretary of State
Department for Culture Media and Sport
DATE: 25 January 2024

Last updated: 1 February 2024

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