In any lottery
, your aim is to make money for your organisation. The last think you want is to violate the law of the land or create trouble for your favorite charity or group. For this reason, it is of the utmost importance that you are aware of the legal implications of your raffle.
In the UK, we have some strict laws concerning lotteries and raffles, as per the Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976 and the National Lottery Act 1993. Large raffles are considered a form of gambling and therefore require a licence. There are three kinds of legal raffles.
- Small Raffle: If all your proceeds will go to charity and you intend to sell tickets only during the course of the event, a Small Raffle will suit your needs. Charge no more than one pound per ticket. You can give away any donated prizes, but may not have cash awards or spend over 250 pounds on prizes. You do not need a licence for this type of raffle.
- Private Raffle: If tickets will be offered only to a defined group, such as members of a club or employees of the same organisation, and the raffle will not be advertised or available outside this group, a Private Raffle will be appropriate. In this case, you will also not need a licence.
- Charity Raffle: If you want to sell raffle tickets amongst the general populace over a period of days, you will have to declare a Charity Raffle. Charge no more than 2 pounds per ticket and keep strict financial records. YOU MUST OBTAIN A LICENCE FROM THE GAMING BOARD OR LOCAL AUTHORITY FOR THIS!
An alternative way to sell raffle tickets without a licence is to hold a Prize Competition. Rather than determining the winner by drawing, you will ask a quiz question and reward prizes to those who answer correctly. Since the Prize Competition is based on skill rather than luck, it is not a matter for the Gaming Board.
Do It for Charity can offer some wonderful ideas on fund raising, including tips for keeping your raffle proper and legal. Best of luck!
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{ 45 comments… read them below or add one }
is it legal to sell 5 tickets for£1.00 or 15 tickets for £2.00
Sorry for the slow response on this Mary. Yes, you are fine selling 5 tickets for £1.00 or 15 tickets for £2.00. As long as you are selling each ticket for less than £1.00 a piece, you are fine.
Actually, upon further research, this does not seem to be the case. You may sell 5 ticket for £1.00, but as all participants must have “equal chance for equal outlay”, you may not sell some tickets at a discount.
This link may be helpful: http://www.ukparentslounge.com/index.php?pg=105&utwkstoryid=1808&title=Is+your+raffle+breaking+the+law%3F&ind=23
hi sorry to bother u just wondered were i stand i bought a raffle ticket from work it was £1 a ticket top prize a flat screen tv and some other prizes i was asked by a member of staff if i want to buy a ticket so i said yes paid my £1 bought one ticket then when i won a prizwe i was told i couldnt have it as i wasnt in the union which the raffle was for. There was nothing advertised any were that you had to be a union member so if i paid my pound and won a prize am i not entitaled to it please help
Indeed, I am not a solicitor, but it seems to me that you ought to receive your prize. If you were not eligible to win, I think it was against the law for them to sell you the ticket. There are rules governing small raffles in the UK, which state that if the draw is operated without a license, it must be open only to a certain group, such as customers at a particular shop or employees at a business. If they were operating it as a workplace raffle, they should give you the prize, and if they were operating it as a union raffle, they should not have sold you the ticket. However, I’m not sure what recourse you have. How powerful is the union?
is it illegal to sell 1strip of raffle tickets for a £1 & 3strips for £2
could someone please tell me if its illegal to buy 3strips of raffle tickets for £2 & 1 strip for a £1
Yes, unfortunately. In the UK, the law requires that all tickets sold for an individual prize draw have the same value. It is not permitted for some tickets to effectively cost less than other tickets, providing some with better odds for the amount spent, as would be the case if one offered a discount on bulk sales. This is the “equal chance for equal outlay” rule mentioned above.
Click the above link, or check with your local gaming council for more details.
~Lance Trebesch, CEO, UK Ticket Printing
Hello, you may think this is a crazy idea, but im trying to sell my husbands motorbike but am not having any joy, I am hoping to raise £7000, so thought maybe i could raffle it off for £10 per ticket and not draw the raffle until all the tickets are sold, is this idea crazy of possible, thanks.
Please check with your local Gaming Board. This might be a good opportunity to hold a prize competition rather than a raffle, just to stay on the safe side of the law. The idea does not seem crazy to me, but in any case, it is best to check the legality of not holding the draw until all tickets are sold. Best wishes!
~Lance Trebesch, CEO, UK Ticket Printing
hi, im hopeing you may be able to advise me, i buy in bulk large electrical good i.e. tv’s, kettle, irons ect ect.
i was thinking of doing a raffle with lots of prizes( sound daft i know ) but i wonderd if it was legal?
many thanks
It doesn’t sound at all daft to me! I believe this should be legal, but, as with all prize draws, you must verify with your local Gaming Board or Gaming Commission to ensure as much, particularly as it seems this raffle will be for profit, rather than charity.
If you need to get rid of all this stock quickly, offering many prizes makes a great deal of sense. However, if time is not an issue, a few smaller draws over the space of a year might net greater financial profit.
Best of luck!
~Lance Trebesch, CEO, UK Ticket Printing
I am trying to arrange a fundraising event for our golf club. For example Name Teddy Bear Birthday £1.00 per go with a bottle of spirits as a prize or How Many Golf Balls in a Barrel £1.00 per go with a bottle of spirits as a prize. Do I need a licence and would this event be deemed as a Private Raffle?
I would definitely check with the Gaming Council on this!
My instinct is that the “guess how many golf ball” stratagem could get you around the laws governing raffles, and that, if you only planned to sell tickets to members of your club, and only in a set time and place, that it could qualify as a private raffle. However, the fact that the prize would be a bottle of spirits might require extra thought. In any case, you do need to double check with an expert on this one. Better safe than sorry!
~Lance Trebesch, CEO, UK Ticket Printing
Hello, my company would like to offer their customers a Prize Raffle Draw. Tickets will be issued in accordance to the volume of seasonal product bought. Tickets would go into a hat and at the end of the promotion, drawn to reveal the winner of a weekend away in Scotland.
Does the company require a license to hold this draw?
Many thanks,
Anita.
Hmm, that is a tricky one. “Customer Lotteries” are exempt from government oversight, provided they are run by the business owners and tickets are only available to customers of the business.
However, there ARE restrictions based on the time period in which you hope to distribute tickets. Distributing tickets throughout an entire season might be a problem. In addition, I’m not entirely certain how the “volume of seasonal product bought” might translate, financially. UK Law is fairly strict regarding the cost of the ticket. Even exempt raffles must follow certain rules and regulation.
I’m afraid this question is outside my expertise. Definitely consult your Gaming Council.
~Lance Trebesch, CEO, UK Ticket Printing
Under 2005 law can cloakroom tickets still be used for a basic fundraising raffle or do tickets need printing with all details on?
Thanks
My understanding is that if your raffle requires a licence, then you must print that licence number, along with other critical details on the ticket. All ticket templates from UK Ticket Printing automatically cue you for the required information.
~Lance Trebesch, CEO, UK Ticket Printing
please could you tell me is it legal to still sell cloak room ticket for a raffle and do they have to be drawn on the same day a charitiy event is happening at our local hall and the raffle is going to be drawn after the event ?
Louise, you will still need to check with your Gaming Council, but I believe you may legally sell these tickets as long as you draw the prizewinners at the charity event. It can be the last thing that happens at the event, but if you plan to draw the winners on another day, you will probably need a licence. It makes the most sense to sell the cloakroom tickets during the event and make the prize draw a part of the event.
~Lance Trebesch, CEO, UK Ticket Printing.
Hi i want to hold a prize draw competion, can i charge for people to entre the comp?
They will need to answer a Q then pay, is that ok?
I recently purchased a £20 Raffle ticket from Mercedes Benz. Gibraltar. It was stated on the ticket that it would be drawn 31st March 2011. It wasnt! and on enquiring to Merc Gib, I was told it was put off untill March 31st. 2011 !? Is it legal to change the date of a draw? with out notifying the purchasers??
Mike
Jodie~
Yes, this is a legal way to circumvent UK Gaming Laws (although I believe typically contestants pay *first* and then answer the question). I am about to post an article on this very subject!
Mike C.~
I am a bit confused. Perhaps you made a mistake in copying out the dates? I am uncertain about this. Indeed, it does seem underhanded. UK law insists that the date of the draw be printed on the ticket, and for this reason, it seems unusual that they would choose to put off the draw (although I have heard of this being done in other countries if the organisation did not sell enough tickets to make the draw financially viable). I would advise that you take your concerns to the local gaming commission. They will know whether this is illegal, and if it is, they will be quite interested to know.
~Lance Trebesch, CEO, UK Ticket Printing
Selling raffle tickets at £1 for strip of five… must they be drawn in ones or can we draw the strip of five for the prize?
HI
I am manager of petrol station. Every year my company holds a community charity week, when every store has to fundraise for a charity local to that store. I want to hold a raffle in which the prize would be 60 litres of fuel. tickets £1 each. Every single pound would be donated to Essex Air Ambulance. which type of raffle would this come under, Charity or small? would i need permission/licence?
thanks
I am producing some raffle tickets for an upcoming fundraising event for a charity. I understand certain details are required to be printed on the tickets, one of which is promoters name and address. I’ve read different things about this- some say it has to be a named person but the address doesnt have to be a personal address, also the named person has to be the person holding the gambling license.
We do hold a gambling licence but as far as i’m aware, it is not held in a single persons name. Instead it is held by our charity. I’m happy to put my name forward but the license is not in my name. Can i put the address of the charity instead of my home address. Advise would be appreciated.
Many thanks
Could you tell me if its against the law for raffle tickets to be sold to members of a private club to win a prize, and then the money taken is then shared out to the members at a later date to use to go out for a meal ??? ( I think it is )
Is this site now not working ??????
Hi please help I am selling raffle tickets for £2.00 a strip do I need to tear these into 5 tickets or is it ok at the one strip?
Hi Lance
I have a printing company and we regularly print raffle tickets. Someone recently told me that I can not buy any raffle tickets that my company prints!! Is this right?
I am thinking of running a raffle or prize competition with a static caravan as the prize,would it be legal to not actually purchase the caravan before the draw so that the winner can choose which site they would like the caravan to be sited upon ?
Hi, my workplace recently held a raffle using cloakroom tickets where employees were given 1 strip of 5 tickets free and the option to purchase more, the proceeds of which would go to a local charity. Many people did purchase more tickets. When the raffle was drawn it was announced that only people present at the raffle would be eligible to receive the ‘star’ prize and other prizes could be collected by those both present and not present. Is this legal?, as some people were on holiday and others were not present when the draw was made and had bought extra tickets obviously to increase their chances of winning the top prize.
Dear Sirs
I have a newsagents. I want to sell raffle tickets to my customers and the prize would be 90 percent of the raffle money received. With a 10 percent going to myself. Is this legal and would I need a licence?
Many thanks
Steve Adams.
Please can you tell me if it is legal for a club to postpone a raffle-draw, making the draw date three week later than the date advertised on the raffle tickets? The club insisted all ticket stubs were to be returned by 30th of August and the draw was to take place on 10th of September. There was no reason for postponing the draw other than to have it when more people might be at the club buying drinks! Hope you can help.
Hi. I am considering to do a non charity raffle where tickets will he sold to the public for £1 (or more). They would be sold also at a venue where I organize night club events. I was wondering , do I need a license and what are the costs?
Hello,
I’m thinking about running a raffle for charity in my local University. Tickets will be sold for £1 each, the prizes available (probably worth more than £250) and the raffle winners will be advertised on the universities internal website.
As tickets will be offered only to members of the university, and the raffle will not be advertised outside of the university, is the raffle classed as a ‘private raffle’. And therefore, a licence is not needed? Regardless of how many tickets are sold and how much money is raised.
Thank you.
Hey there im intrested in raffleing my motorbike of and as i read the laws above if i was to
make a group on lets say facebook were only members of the group could by a ticket there gor its a private raffel and to my understanding would not need a licence and would be legal
thanks for your time
Hi
I’m hoping you can help me with a little advice. I have a been doing some fundraising to raise for cancer research U.K. And after asking for donations over the last few weeks, i’ve had an offer of a PC donated if i would like it. I would like to either auction or raffle it off. Can you please give me a little advice. I was planning on selling the tickets to friends family acquaintances. Also via my fundraising page on social sites.
many thanks
Freema
Hi, I intend to run a raffle based on the outcome of my time running a marathon. People will be sold tickets with times and one winner will recieve the prize. Is this based on skill personal to me and therefore not luck. It is for charity and I will do my utmost to finish in the quickest possible time.
Thanks
Good afternoon, I have no idea how I came across this page but it has caught my attention
Okay couple of questions to see if I understand
1) I don’t need a Licence as long as I have a question so its counted as a “Prize competition”
2) a)Would I be allowed to say its a Prize competition raffle? if no then….
2) b) After they by a buy in the competition Am I allowed to give them a raffle ticket?
3)As this would be a Prize draw would I still need to have a date on there tickets?
4)if I was selling per entrée 0.25p, Am i allowed to have a minimum amount “like its 25p but min is 50p to entrée so two tickets
See I want to start of small then get bigger
Thanks in advanced
My understanding of the law is that, if some people are purchasing single tickets and some are drawing the strip of five, this would actually *reduce* the “equal chance for equal outlay,” as five tickets would essentially be treated as one ticket. I would advise tearing the tickets off and drawing them individually. However, you should direct this question to your local gaming council for further clarification.
I’m not certain, as this prize draw would still be conducted at your business, with, presumably, your customers. Please contact your local gaming council for further details.
I would definitely advise you to contact the local gaming council. I get the sense that you are eager to “get around” the rules and use your draw as a personal moneymaking venture. Step carefully! The council will inform you of the best way to legally conduct your affairs.
To be honest, this scenario has not been addressed in *any* of the laws I’ve come across! Since it’s for charity, your local gaming council will be more than happy to help you construct a legal plan for your game.
Your reasoning appears sound to me, but, as always, I would advise checking with the gaming council before proceeding. The law looks upon prize draws for personal gain in a very different light as those for charity.