Gambling Commission Guidance 2025. You can download the return form HERE

 

This is the link to the UK Government Gambling Commission website – https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-and-players/guide/page/licences-for-small-society-lotteries

Please fill in the ‘Return Form’ and return it to me and I will keep safely as a record of the event and a copy will be sent to the Licensing Authority (FCC) for their records.

 

Register your small society lottery

You must register your lottery with your local licensing authority (usually your local council). This has been done by Flintshire District Scouts, and is done so each year, on behalf of all Groups in Flintshire District.

Who can you sell tickets to?

You can sell tickets to people aged 16 and over.

Ticket requirements

Your tickets must show:

  • the name of your society
  • the ticket price, which must be the same for all tickets
  • the name and address of the organiser, or, if you are using them, the name of the External Lottery Manager
  • the date of the draw, or information which enables the date to be determined.

 

Can I claim my costs?

You can claim costs for prizes and expenses up to the value of 80% of ticket sales.

If someone else is running your lottery

Your society can employ an ELM to run all or part of your lottery. However, if you employ an ELM they must apply for an operating licence.

Rules for small society lotteries

There are rules around small society lotteries that you must follow. These are as follows:

  • at least 20% of the lottery proceeds must be applied to the purposes of the society (the ‘good cause’)
  • no single prize may be worth more than £25,000, even if it is donated
  • you cannot sell more than £20,000 of tickets in a single lottery, or £250,000 in any one year
  • you can roll over prizes to another lottery run by your society, but that prize cannot be worth more than £25,000
  • every ticket in the lottery must cost the same and the society must take payment for the ticket fee before entry into the draw is allowed
  • you can sell tickets door to door, online, by telephone or face to face, but you cannot sell tickets in a street (including passages through shopping malls)
  • you must send details of your lottery to the local authority it is registered with, no later than three months after the lottery is drawn. The local authority will have a specific form to use for this.