Raffles and lotteries
Operating a raffle or lottery can be a good and fairly straightforward way of raising funds, but you do need to be aware of the circumstances in which raffles and lotteries are licensed. The laws about raffles and lotteries are very strict, and it is a criminal offence not to comply with them.
Raffles and lotteries are the same thing – both words cover situations where someone pays to participate, prizes are allocated to participants, and the allocation of prizes is wholly by chance.
There are three types of lottery, each governed by its own rules and regulations:
Small Lotteries
Raffles run during events like bazaars, fetes, dinner dances, or sporting events.
Private Lotteries
Raffles where participation is limited to members of a particular club, or those who live or work in the same premises
Society Lotteries
Raffles where members of the public can buy tickets and the draw is advertised widely.
The regulations governing each type of lottery are outlined below. However, the conduct of raffles and lotteries is heavily regulated and complex. For this reason, before you organise a raffle or lottery to raise funds for Teenage Cancer Trust, please do read the information on the Gambling Commission website.
If your lottery is not a small lottery (as described below), you are likely to need a licence for it – please do not go ahead without speaking to Teenage Cancer Trust.
Small Lotteries
Small lotteries can be held without need for a licence only if the lottery meets certain conditions. The primary ones are as follows:
a) The lottery is being held as part of a main event/ entertainment such as a fete or a dinner dance
b) The proceeds of the lottery, after deducting certain specified expenses, must be used for charitable purposes (along with the proceeds of the main event/entertainment);
c) The tickets can only be sold on the premises during the course of the event/ entertainment. The winner must be announced during the course of the event;
d) No more than £250 of raffle proceeds can be spent on buying prizes (although the value of donated prizes is unlimited);
e) No money prizes can be awarded.
These raffles don’t need specially printed tickets or a licence although each ticket must carry an equal chance of winning.
Teenage Cancer Trust’s fundraising team will provide specific guidance on organising a society lottery – please do not go ahead with organising one regionally without speaking to someone at head office. However, some points to note include:
a) The maximum price of a ticket cannot exceed £2
b) The price of every ticket must be the same
c) Each ticket must specify:
- the price
- the name of the organisation promoting the lottery
- that the organisation is registered with the gambling commission
- the name and address of the promoter
- Teenage Cancer Trust’s registered charity number
d) Tickets must not be sold to anyone under 16
e) Tickets must not be sold in a public street
There are no legal constraints on anyone wanting to operate a free draw or a prize competition. In broad terms, these are situations in which there is no fee for entry (which is unlikely to apply, if you are intending to raise some funds for Teenage Cancer Trust!), or in which the award of a prize depends on the exercise of skill, knowledge or judgment on the part of those entering.
This is a difficult area to judge, as there are requirements to ensure that a sufficient number of people will be excluded from the possibility of winning. Please do not assume that your planned event will be a prize competition without checking with us or the Gambling Commission.
