Small Society Lottery Registrations

Under the Gambling Act 2005 lotteries run by a non-commercial society (i.e. a society established and conducted for charitable purposes, or for the promotion of a sporting, athletic or cultural activity or for any non-commercial purpose other than private gain) must be registered with this authority if the principal office is in this district.

Overview

You can sell tickets to people aged 16 and over.

Your tickets must show:

the name of your society.
the ticket price, which must be the same for all tickets.
the name and address of the organiser, or, if you are using them, the name of the External Lottery Manager (ELM).
the date of the draw, or information which enables the date to be determined.

You can claim costs for prizes and expenses up to the value of 80% of ticket sales.

Your society can employ an ELM to run all or part of your lottery. However, if you employ an ELM they must apply for an operating licence.

There are rules around small society lotteries that you must follow. These are as follows:

at least 20% of the lottery proceeds must be applied to the purposes of the society (the 'good cause').
no single prize may be worth more than £25,000, even if it is donated.
you cannot sell more than £20,000 of tickets in a single lottery, or £250,000 in any one year.
you can roll over prizes to another lottery run by your society, but that prize cannot be worth more than £25,000.
every ticket in the lottery must cost the same and the society must take payment for the ticket fee before entry into the draw is allowed.
you can sell tickets door to door, online, by telephone or face to face, but you cannot sell tickets in a street (including passages through shopping malls).
you must send details of your lottery to us, no later than three months after the lottery is drawn. A return form can be downloaded on the right of this page.
an annual fee of £20.00 is required to maintain the registration, you will be sent a reminder when it is due.

Apply

An application form can be downloaded here Application Form for a Society Lottery (PDF) [112KB] (opens in new tab)

The fee for a small society lottery registration is £40.00. Cheques should be made payable to 'Torridge District Council' or alternatively we can call you to take a card payment once we receive a completed application form (please note we do not accept cash payments).

Further Information

For details on other types of lottery and fundraising please visit the Gambling Commission Fundraising and Lotteries (opens in new tab)

Contact Details for Licensing Team

Email: licensing@torridge.gov.uk

Telephone: 01237 428700

Post: Licensing Team, Torridge District Council, Riverbank House, Bideford, EX39 2QG