Small Society Lottery Registration

The Gambling Act 2005 has replaced the provisions of the Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976 and therefore, small societies wishing to promote lotteries must register with the local authority as a small society lottery.

This information will be useful to anyone thinking of promoting lotteries such as raffles, tombolas and prize draws for example.

What is a lottery?

A lottery is an arrangement which satisfies statutory descriptions of either -

a simple lottery

An arrangement is a simple lottery if -

persons are required to pay to participate
one or more prizes are allocated to one or more members of a class
the prizes are allocated by a process which relies wholly on chance

or

a complex lottery

An arrangement is a complex lottery if -

persons are required to pay to participate
one or more prizes are allocated to one or more members of a class
the prizes are allocated by a series of processes
the first of those processes relies wholly on chance

If you have arrangements that fulfil all of the criteria of either of the above categories, they are defined as a lottery under the Act.

What is the definition of a small society?

A small society is one that meets the requirements of the size and status, as below -

Society status

The society in question must be ‘non-commercial’.

Size of lottery

The total value of tickets to be put on sale per single lottery must be (a) £20,000 or less, or (b) the overall value of tickets to be put on sale for all their lotteries in a calendar year must not exceed £250,000.

If you meet the requirements above, then you should apply to register your society as a small society lottery with the authority whose area covers your society’s registered office.

By holding registration, your society will be able to promote lotteries like those above, but there are still other requirements that the society must abide by. Please see the guidance booklet which can be obtained from the Gambling Commission website.

However, if your society is commercial and/or is likely to raise in excess of the limits above, then the organisation is classed as a large lottery and it will have to get a lottery operating licence from the Gambling Commission.

Exempt lotteries

If you are promoting a lottery like the ones below and you can answer ‘yes’ to all of the applicable bullet points below, then the lottery you wish to promote will be exempt from requiring registration.

Incidental non-commercial lotteries – only exempt from registration if -

no proceeds from the event will be used for the purposes of private gain
the lottery is promoted wholly for a purpose other than that of private gain (for example, for a charitable purpose/good cause)
the promoters of the lottery will not be deducting more than £500 from the proceeds in respect of the cost of prizes
the promoters of the lottery will not be deducting more than £100 from the proceeds in respect of the cost of other expenses, such as the cost of printing tickets or hire of equipment
there will be no lottery rollover
tickets will only be sold during the event and on the premises where the event is being held
the results will be made public while the event is taking place

An example of an incidental non-commercial lottery may include a lottery held at a school fete, or at a social event such as a dinner dance.

Private society lotteries – only exempt from registration if:

the lottery will only be promoted by authorised members of a society
tickets will only be sold to either society members and on the society premises
the group or society is established and conducted for purposes other than gambling
the lottery will be promoted for the purposes for which the society is conducted
the lottery will only be advertised on the society’s premises
tickets will comply with certain provisions common also to work and resident’s lotteries including that they are each of the same price and are non-transferable
there will be no rollover

An example of private society lottery may be one that is limited to members of a working men’s club or a sports club, where guests at the club would not be permitted to participate.

Work lotteries – only exempt from registration if:

the promoters all work on a single set of work premises
the tickets are only sold to persons who work on those premises
the lottery will be organised to ensure that no profits are made
the lottery will only be advertised on the work premises
tickets will comply with certain provisions common also to private and resident’s lotteries including that they are each of the same price and are non-transferable
there will be no rollover

An example of a work lottery could be a sweepstake on the Grand National amongst work colleagues.

Residents’ lotteries – only exempt from registration if:

the promoters live in a single set of residential premises
the tickets will only be sold to those who live in the residential premises
the lottery will only be advertised on the residential premises
tickets will comply with certain provisions common also to private and work lotteries including that they are each of the same price and are non-transferable.
there will be no rollover

An example of a residents’ lottery may be one that is held in student halls of residence for students only.

Customer lotteries – only exempt from registration if:

the lottery is promoted by a person who occupies the business premises
the tickets are only sold by or on behalf of the promoter and only to customers when they are on the business premises
the lottery will be organised to ensure that no profits are made
the lottery will only advertised on the business premises
all tickets will be of the same price and are non-transferable
the prizes will not be worth more than £50
there will be no rollover
the draw will not take place within 7 days of a previous draw in the lottery or another customer lottery promoted on the business premises

An example of a customer lottery may be one held by a local butcher selling or supplying tickets on their own premises to customers only, with an opportunity to win a joint of meat.

If you cannot answer ‘yes’ to any or all of the bullet points under the specific lottery type, then you may require registration as a small or large society lottery.

Free draws and prize competitions
In relation to free draws and prize competitions, we would recommend that you contact the Gambling Commission for further advice.