Lottery Registration
If you wish to hold a lottery you may need to be registered with the local authority.
There are two types of lottery defined in the Gambling Act 2005
A simple lottery is one where:
- persons are required to pay to participate in the arrangement;
- in the course of the arrangement one or more prizes are allocated to one or more members of a class; and
- the prizes are allocated by a process which relies wholly on chance.
(A raffle which involves the sale of tickets for a prize would be classed as a simple lottery)
A complex lottery is one where:
- persons are required to pay to participate in the arrangement;
- in the course of the arrangement one or more prizes are allocated to one or more members of a class;
- the prizes are allocated by a series of processes; and
- the first of those processes relies wholly on chance.
Please refer to the Lottery guidance factsheet, available to download below, for further information on whether your lottery is one which requires registration or whether it falls within one of the exemptions. Further information and advice is also available from the Gambling Commission.
Applications for registration as a Small Society Lottery must be made on the prescribed form and are subject to an application fee of £40. The completed form should be returned to the Licensing Team, address details can be found on the contact Licensing webpage.
If paying by card please provide a telephone number on which you can be contacted for payment. Applicants are also required to complete an External Lottery Manager notification form as part of the application process. If you require any assistance in completing the form please contact the Licensing Team on 020 7341 5152.
- download the External Lottery Manager notification form [PDF] (file size 181Kb)
Registered Small Society Lotteries must submit a statement to the authority providing the following information within three months of a draw taking place:
- date on which tickets were available for sale or supply and the date of the draw;
- total proceeds of the lottery;
- amounts deducted by promoters of the lottery in providing prizes, including rollovers;
- amounts deducted by the promoters of the lottery in respect of costs incurred in organising the lottery;
- the amount applied directly to the purpose for which the promoting society is conducted; and
- whether any expenses incurred in connection with the lottery were not paid for by deduction from the proceeds, and, if so, the amount of expenses and the sources from which they were paid.
The statement can submitted on the lottery returns form
