Lotteries and raffles

Lotteries and raffles are a great way to raise extra money at a fundraising event, and good fun too! Ask friends if they have any unwanted Christmas gifts they wish to donate, or approach local shops and businesses for prizes such as flowers, wine, theatre tickets and beauty treatments. We can provide you with an authorisation letter confirming that you are raising funds for Beating Bowel Cancer; just get in touch and let us know about your event.

A raffle held at a one-off event like a dinner or golf day is known as a Small Lottery. For this type of lottery you do not require a licence, but there are several rules that you must adhere to:

• Tickets can only be sold during the event
• The price of every ticket must be the same i.e. you cannot sell bundle deals such as three for the price of two.
• You must not have cash prizes (although store vouchers are ok)
• You cannot spend more than £250 on prizes (donated prizes with a higher value do not count).
• The result of the raffle must be drawn at the event.

You can also organise a raffle or prize draw where you sell tickets in advance. In this instance you will not require a license if you are only promoting the event and selling tickets within a particular organisation, for example at work or at a social club; this is known as a Private Lottery. Please note that:

• Tickets can only be sold to members/employees of this organisation
• Tickets must include the name and address of each of the lottery’s promoters, the ticket price and give details of who is allowed to buy tickets.

If you are planning on selling tickets to a wider group of people (such as friends, family etc) then you must obtain a licence for a Society Lottery from the relevant local authority. Please note that as the promoter of the lottery you are liable for the organisation of it.

• Tickets issued for this type of lottery can be a physical or electronic document. They must include:
  • The name of the society on whose behalf the lottery is being promoted (i.e. Beating Bowel Cancer)
  • The name and address of the person that the society has authorised to promote the lottery

• The date of the draw
• Tickets cannot be sold by or to people under the age of 16
• Tickets must not be sold in the street. They may be sold door-to-door but you must comply with door-to-door sales law

Prize competitions are free from statutory control under the Gambling Act. Put simply this means that you won’t require a license to run a competition (which people pay to enter) but a participant must show a certain level of knowledge/judgement/skill in order to be eligible for the prize. This is unlike lotteries, which rely wholly on chance.

For further information on prize competitions and lotteries please have a look at the institute of fundraising and gambling commission websites, or contact the Beating Bowel Cancer events team.

• Institute of Fundraising
• Gambling Commission