So your heart is set on an online raffle, but now you need to do all that legal stuff... 😔 In this blog we'll go through whether you need a licence and how to get one.
So you've decided you want to run an online raffle, YAY! We are slightly biased but we love online raffles and lotteries as there are so many benefits of going online. But how do you get a licence for your online raffle?
First thing to note is to decide what kind of licence you need:
- A Small Society Lottery Licence will enable you to run multiple raffles or lotteries each year where your players will pay to enter for the chance to win prizes. A Small Society Lottery Licence has a maximum limit of £20,000 in ticket sales per draw or £250,000 in a calendar year.
- A Large Society Lottery Licence is any lottery with proceeds of more than £20,000 per draw or more than £250,000 per calendar year.
However some lotteries do not need permission, below is a list of lotteries you won't need a licence for:
- Prizedraws / Free Competitions do not need a licence. If you are running a competition or raffle where there is a free entry route into the raffle, you will not need a licence - more information on Prizedraws coming soon!
- Private Society Lotteries can be any group or society, provided it is not established and conducted for purposes connected to gambling. Tickets can only be sold to other members of that society and to people on the premises used for the administration of the society.
- Work Lotteries these can only be run and played by colleagues at a particular place of work. The lottery cannot make a profit.
- Residents’ Lotteries can only be run and played by people living at a particular address. The lottery cannot make a profit.
- Customer Lotteries These can only be run by a business, at its own premises, and for its own customers. No prize can be more than £50.00 in value and the lottery cannot make a profit. The draw cannot take place within 7 days of a previous draw in the lottery or another customer lottery promoted on the premises.
- Incidental Non-Commercial Lotteries are held at non-commercial events such as school fetes etc. All the ticket sales and the draw must take place during the main event, which may last more than a single day. Prizes cannot total more than £500.
How do I get a licence?
- Small Society Lottery Licence can be obtained through your local authority. Don't know what your local authority is? Find out now. All you need to do is complete a registration form and return it to your local authority office, the initial registration fee is £40 with a £20 annual fee.
- Large Society Lottery Licence will need to be obtained through the gambling commission. More information on how to apply for a large society lottery licence can be found here.
Running a Corporate Raffle?
If you are wanting to run a corporate raffle, Zaffo have made it even easier by partnering with Charities Trust. By singing up to our Corporate Raffle Package, you don't need to apply for your own license at all. Want to know more?
Still worried?
If you're still confused about what you need or want more information, give us a call. We are External Lottery Managers so we know a thing or two and we'd love to help you out.
If you're ready to get set up, simply sign up at info.zaffo.com and we'll get your raffle page set up in no time!
We ARE social. So come and be social with us!
Category: Raffles & Lotteries
