Small society lotteries

Any non-commercial society that wishes to promote small lotteries, raffles, prize draws or similar, in order to raise funds for a purpose of the society, must be registered with us.

Who can apply to register a non-commercial society lottery

To apply, you must have the authority to make the application on behalf of the society.

What counts as a non-commercial society

To register, a Society must be non-commercial. A society is defined under s.19 of the Gambling Act 2005 as non-commercial if it is established and conducted:

• for charitable purposes (defined under s.2 of the Charities Act 2006)
• for the purpose of enabling participation in, or of supporting, sport, athletics or a cultural activity
• for any other non-commercial purpose other than that of private gain

Why applications may be refused

Please note applications will be refused, and you should therefore not make an application, if in the last five years: 

• an operating licence held by the society has been revoked under section 119(1) of the Gambling Act 2005, or
• an application for an operating licence made by the society has been refused

Your application may be refused if we think that:

• the society is not a non-commercial society
• a person who will or may be connected with the promotion of the lottery has been convicted of a relevant offence
• information provided in or with the application is false or misleading

Costs

The initial application fee is £40, and the annual fee due on the anniversary of the date of registration is £20. If you fail to pay your annual fee, we may cancel your registration, a notice will be sent to you formally in this instance. 

What to include with your application

You will need to include:

• the purposes for which the society is established and conducted including the aims and objectives of the society
• the society’s unique charity registration number, if the society is a registered charity
• a telephone number so we can call you for payment of the £40 application fee

How to apply

You can submit your completed application to register a non-commercial society lottery by email or post. We will call you for payment of the initial fee of £40.

For renewals you can pay your small lottery registration annual fee online. You do not need to complete an application form for renewals.

What happens once you have made an application

Once we have received your application, we will ensure you comply with the requirements and your application will be sent to the Police for checks.

We will aim to process your application within 28 days of receipt. Once granted we will issue you with a registration certificate after the 28 day period.

If we refuse your application, you will be served a notice of this intention. Your application will then be determined by the Licensing Committee, where you will be invited to attend. If you have not heard from us within a reasonable time period please contact us.

Filing of returns

After promoting a lottery, the registered small society must return details of that lottery to the local authority within three months of the date of the draw (or last draw).

If you employ an external lottery manager (ELM), they must be licensed by the Gambling Commission.