Small society lotteries and the law:
Until 01 September 2007, the Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976 controlled the conduct of small lotteries (ie. raffles and 100 club type draws) by societies raising money for charitable, sporting, cultural and other similar purposes, other than for private gain. From 01 September 2007 the 1976 Act has been repealed and a similar registration system is being re-introduced by Schedule 11 of the Gambling Act 2005.
The society on whose behalf the lottery is promoted should be registered with Babergh District Council, if their Head Office is within the Babergh District, before any lotteries are conducted.
Exemptions under the Gambling Act 2005:
Certain exemptions may apply to some types of lottery, for example an incidental non-commercial lottery, a private lottery or customer lottery. For example, a raffle held at a school fete where all the proceeds of the event will go entirely to purposes that are other than private gain may be an exempt lottery.
Registration forms, returns forms and guidance:
The Licensing Section have produced the following documents for information and application purposes:
Guidance document for small lotteries (Gambling Act 2005) (PDF, 66kb)
Registration form for small lottery (PDF, 63kb)
Returns form for registered societies (Gambling Act 2005) (PDF, 36kb)
Further more detailed information on lottery law, including exemptions, is available via the Gambling Commission website at www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk
Registration fees:
The prescribed fee for a NEW registration is £40 and an annual fee of £20 is required to continue the registration. The annual fee is normally due on 01 January each year or else on the anniversary of the grant of the registration. Renewal forms are not required, but return forms must be submitted within 3 months of each lottery draw.
Non-payment of annual fees will result in automatic cancellation of the registration.
Licence fees may be paid by credit or debit card. Please contact the Licensing Section direct if you wish to pay by this method.
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