Small society lotteries

Society lotteries are lotteries promoted for the benefit of a non-commercial society. A society is non-commercial if it is established and conducted for charitable purposes, it enables participation in, or supporting of, sport, athletics and cultural activities and for any other non-commercial purpose other than that of private gain.

What are the limits placed on small society lotteries?

The limits are as follows:

• At least 20% of the lottery proceeds must be applied to the purposes of the society
• No single prize may be worth more than £25,000
• Rollovers between lotteries are only permitted where every lottery affected is also a small society lottery promoted by the same society, and the maximum single prize is £25,000
• Every ticket in the lottery must cost the same and the ticket fee must be paid to the society (i.e. the society must take payment) before entry into the draw is allowed
• The total value of tickets for sale for single lottery cannot exceed £20,000
• The annual value of tickets for all lotteries per calendar year must not exceed £250,000

If you plan to exceed any of these limits, you must be licensed with the Gambling Commission.

Further guidance on small society lotteries is provided below:

pdf Small Society Lottery Guidance Notes (107 KB)

Registration

You must register your small society lottery with the council in the area where your principal office is located. To apply for registration with us, please complete the form below.

document Application form (327 KB)

Once completed the form should be returned to us at:

Worcester City Council Licensing, Worcestershire Regulatory Services, Wyre Forest House, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, DY11 7WF

The fee to apply for registration as a small society lottery is £40.

Once a society is registered there is an annual fee of £20 to maintain their registration. If this fee is not paid, the registration will be cancelled.

Tickets

Holders of a small society lottery can sell tickets prior to the event. Tickets can either be physical or virtual (for example an email). Tickets must show:

• The name of the promoting society;
• The price of the ticket (here is no maximum price you can charge for a ticket, however all tickets must cost the same);
• The name and address of the member of the society who is designated as having responsibility at the society for promotion of the lottery or the external lottery manager; and
• The date of the draw, or such information, which enables the date of the draw to be determined.

The requirement to provide this information can be satisfied by providing an opportunity for the participant to retain the message electronically or print it.

Lottery Returns

After each lottery, the promoting society of a small society lottery must send certain information as returns to the licensing authority with which it is registered. This information allows us to assess, in particular, whether the financial limits are being followed and to ensure that any money raised is being applied for the proper purpose. The information that must be submitted is as follows:

• The arrangements for the lottery - specifically the date on which tickets were available for sale or supply, the dates of any draw and the value of prizes, including any donated prizes and any rollover
• The proceeds of the lottery
• The amounts deducted by the promoters of the lottery in providing prizes, including prizes in accordance with any rollovers
• The amounts deducted by the promoters of the lottery in respect of costs incurred in organising the lottery
• Whether any expenses incurred in connection with the lottery were not paid for by deduction from the proceeds, and, if so, the amount of expenses and the sources from which they were paid
• The amount applied to the purpose for which the promoting society is conducted (this must be at least 20% of the proceeds)

The return must be sent no later than three months after the date of the lottery draw, or in the case of 'instant lotteries (scratch cards) within three months of the last date on which tickets were on sale and be signed (electronic signatures are acceptable if the return is sent electronically) by two members of the society, who must be aged eighteen or older, are appointed for the purpose in writing by the society or, if it has one, its governing body, and accompanied by a copy of their letter or letters of appointment.

A template for making information returns can be downloaded below:

document Financial Return form (326 KB)