Lottery licence

The Gambling Act came into force on 1 September 2007 when new arrangements were introduced to regulate gambling and replaces the Lotteries and Amusement Act 1976.

The Gambling Act 2005 controls the conduct of small lotteries, raffles etc. by societies raising money for charitable, sports and other similar purposes, other than for personal gain. The society on whose behalf the lottery is promoted must first be registered with the council if their head office is within Coventry.

The council may register a society, which is established for one of the following purposes:

• charitable purposes
• participation in or support of athletic sports or games or cultural activities
• purposes for any other non-commercial other than that of private gain.

It is not permissible to establish a society whose sole purpose is to facilitate lotteries - it must have some other purpose.

Total proceeds not to exceed £250,000 p.a. or £20,000 in a single draw.

If a society wishes to run lotteries that exceed these amounts they must register with the Gambling Commission.

The Act introduces some relaxation of society lottery law and in particular:

• Removes the individual limits on the percentage of proceeds that may be applied to expenses or prizes - although the maximum global amount that can be deducted for expenses and prizes remains at 80 percent, with a minimum of 20 percent going to the purposes of the society.
• Allows rollovers of prize funds from one lottery to another promoted by the same society, provided the maximum single prize does not exceed £25,000 or 10 percent of the gross proceeds.
• Permits the sale of tickets by an automated process.
• Removes the £2 maximum limit on ticket prizes.

• Application and guidance
• Gambling licences information