Other types of lottery
A number of other types of lottery are regulated through the Gambling Act 2005. However, the council only has responsibility for small society lotteries.
Large society lotteries
Any non-commercial society that organises a single lottery expected to raise more than £20,000, or multiple lotteries raising more than £250,000 in a calendar year, must hold a lottery operating licence issued by the Gambling Commission. Find out more about large-scale lottery licences on the Gambling Commission website.
Incidental lotteries
Incidental lotteries are those held entirely at non-commercial events (that is, all tickets are sold and the draw is made at the event), where all the money raised at the event goes entirely to purposes that are not for private or commercial gain.
Private lotteries
Private society, work or residents' lotteries are those where tickets are only sold to society members, workers in or residents of a premises. An example might be a weekly raffle where tickets are sold only to the residents of a residential care home.
Customer lotteries
Customer lotteries are those run by occupiers of business premises selling tickets only to customers on the premises itself.
National Lottery
The largest lottery scheme in the UK is the National Lottery. The operator is licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Gambling Commission ensures that competitions are run in accordance with the licence terms and conditions and the relevant legal requirements.