Register a Small Society Lottery

All Small Society Lotteries require registration under the Gambling Act 2005. This Registration is needed when your organisation intends to sell printed raffle tickets in advance of the date on which the draw will take place. The Small Society Lottery registration is mainly for charitable purposes.

How to register

All Small Society Lotteries must be registered with us. You can apply for a licence using the application form below:

Download the Small Society Lotteries Registration Form.

The completed application form should be returned with the £40 for initial registration.

The registration will last for 12 months from the date the initial registration fee is paid. An annual renewal fee of £20 has to be paid within 2 months prior to the date of expiry each year if the registration is to remain in force. These fees are set nationally.

To ensure that your organisation qualifies under the regulations please visit the Gambling Commission website.

Ticket information

All tickets in a society registered with us must state:

• the name of the society on whose behalf the lottery is being promoted
• the price of the ticket
• the name and address of the member of the society responsible for the promotion of the lottery
• the fact that the society is registered with us
• the date of the draw, or the means by which the date may be determined

Tickets which are issued through a form of remote communication or any other electronic manner must specify this information to the purchaser of the ticket and ensure that the message can be either retained or printed.

Other types of lottery

Private, Work or Residents' lottery

If you feel it is not worthwhile paying £40 for a licence you can still raise funds but need to restrict your sale of tickets. You can do this by holding a private, work or residents' lottery where tickets are confined to members of a club, society or institution. With this type of lottery, you cannot sell tickets to the general public.

Non-commercial lottery

You can also raise funds by running an incidental non-commercial lottery for which no permit or registration is required. These types of lotteries are exempt from registration if:

• no proceeds from the event will be used for the purposes of private gain
• the lottery is promoted wholly for a purpose other than that of private gain (i.e. for a charitable purpose or good cause)
• the promoters of the lottery will not be deducting more than £500 from the proceeds in respect of the cost of prizes
• the promoters of the lottery will not be deducting more than £100 from the proceeds in respect of the cost of other expenses
• there will be no lottery roll over
• tickets will only be sold during the event and on the premises where the event is being held
• the results will be made public while the event is taking place

Lottery return submission

The Gambling Commission’s Licensing Conditions and Code of Practice require that for each Small Society Lottery held, a lottery submission must be made to us within three months of the date of the determination of the lottery. You can download the lottery return form below:

Download the Small Society Lotteries Return Form.