Lottery licences: when they are needed and how to apply

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You need a lottery licence for a small society lottery, which is a lottery or raffle promoted for the benefit of a non-commercial society.

When a lottery licence is needed

A lottery is considered small when it is not a large lottery.

A large lottery may:

  • have proceeds that exceed £20,000
  • aggregate proceeds during the calendar year exceeding £250,000
  • be promoted in the 3 calendar years after a large lottery

How to apply

A lottery registration is for 12 months and costs £40, which can be paid by card over the phone. 

When completing the application form (PDF, 162 KB) , please provide a suitable contact telephone number for the fee payment.

How to maintain a licence

Your registration will continue provided you pay a yearly £20 annual fee. This payment must be made within the period of 2 months before the anniversary of the registration.

The society promoting the Small Society Lottery must also send the Licensing Team a statement (PDF, 68 KB) of the matters outlined below:

  • the arrangements for the lottery (including the dates on which tickets were available for sale or supply, the dates of any draw and the arrangements or prizes (including any rollover)
  • the proceeds of the lottery,
  • the amounts deducted by the promoters of the lottery in respect of the provision of prizes (including the provision of prizes in accordance with any rollover),
  • the amounts deducted by the promoters of the lottery in respect of other costs incurred on organising the lottery,
  • any amount applied to a purpose for which the promoting society is conducted, and
  • whether any expenses in connection with the lottery were defrayed otherwise than by deduction from proceeds, and, if they were, the amount of expenses and  the sources from which they were defrayed.

The statement must be sent to the local authority no later than 3 months after the day on which the draw (or the last draw) in the lottery took place.

How to run the lottery

Prizes

At least 20% of the profits must go to the societies purposes and the maximum prize cannot exceed £25,000

Tickets

  • the price of the tickets shall always be the same
  • the Act requires that lottery tickets many only be sold by persons over the age of 16 to persons over the age of 16.

Where a person purchases a lottery ticket in a small society lottery he/she must receive a document/ticket which:

  • identifies the promoting society
  • states the price of the ticket
  • states the date of the draw (or each draw) in the lottery, or enables the date of the draw (or each draw) on the lottery to be determined
  • states the name and address of a member of the society who is designated, by persons acting on behalf of the society, as having responsibility within the society for the promotion of the lottery, or if there is one, the external lottery manager.

Incidental non-commercial lotteries

A raffle or lottery does not need a registration if it is an incidental non-commercial lottery.

It must be:

  • incidental to a non-commercial event - such as a fete
  • the proceeds should not be used for private gain
  • tickets can only be sold during the event
  • the results must be made public at the event.

An example of this is a traditional raffle or a tombola at a village fete.

The promoters of the lottery may not deduct more than £100 from the proceeds in respect of the expenses incurred in organising the lottery.

No more than £500 can be spent on prizes (but other prizes may be donated to the lottery) and the lottery cannot involve a rollover of prizes from one lottery to another.

Contacts

Licensing Team
2 Bristol Avenue
Colindale
London
NW9 4EW

Tel: 020 8359 7443
Email: licensingadmin@barnet.gov.uk