Any type of competition or prize draw scheme counts as a lottery if:
- players have to pay in order to take part
- one or more prizes is allocated to one or more players
- prizes are allocated by a process which relies wholly on chance
- or if there is more than one round to select a winner, the first round relies wholly on chance
Under the Gambling Act 2005, lotteries (also known as raffles) can't be run for private or commercial gain.
They can be used to collect money for a good cause. For example, for a charity, to help a local club buy equipment, or for a school to raise funds for educational needs.
Different types of competition could fall within the definition of a lottery. This includes raffles, tombola, sweepstakes, 100/500 clubs, and prize draws. In some cases, the promoter will need to register with us or get a licence from the Gambling Commission.
Small society lotteries
If you are part of a charity, sports clubs, or another non-commercial organisation, and you want to run small lotteries to raise funds for your activities, you will need to register with us.
Small society lotteries can be used to raise up to £250,000 per calendar year. There is a limit on the proceeds from each individual lottery of £20,000.
Guidance
You can find guidance and details of conditions you will need to comply with on the Gambling Commission website.
How to apply
You can email it to us or post it to:
Licensing Team
London Borough of Sutton
Civic Offices
St Nicholas Way
Sutton
SM1 1EA
You should keep a copy of the completed form for your records.
Fees
Details of the fees payable are available on our fees page.
In addition to the application fee, there is an annual fee payable on the anniversary of the start date of the registration which you need to pay to keep the registration active.
You can pay online or over the phone by calling 020 8770 5000.
Issuing your registration
Once a decision has been made, we aim to issue your registration within 10 working days.
Draws and returns
The promoting society of a small society lottery must accurately reflect the results of any lottery.
This is done by submitting a statutory return to the local authority. This must be during the period of 3 months beginning with the day on which the draw (or the last draw) in the lottery takes place.
The return must be signed by either:
- 2 members of the society who are appointed for the purpose in writing
- the society's governing body (if it has one)
Other types of lottery
The Gambling Act 2005 regulates a number of other types of lottery. Sutton is only responsible for registering small society lotteries.
National Lottery
The National Lottery is the largest lottery scheme in the UK. The operator is licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission. They ensure that its competitions are run in accordance with the licence terms and conditions and the relevant legal requirements.
Large society lotteries
Any non-commercial society must hold a lottery operating licence issued by the Gambling Commission if they've organised:
- a single lottery expected to raise more than £20,000
- multiple lotteries raising more than £250,000 in a calendar year
Lotteries which do not require a licence
Incidental lotteries
Incidental lotteries are lotteries that are:
- held entirely at events (such as where tickets are only sold at and during the event)
- where all the money raised from the lottery goes to purposes that are not for private or commercial gain
They do not need to be registered or licensed as long as they comply with certain statutory criteria.
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.
For example, a weekly raffle where tickets are sold only to the residents of a residential care home, or an office sweepstake.
Customer lotteries
Customer lotteries are run by occupiers of business premises selling tickets only to customers on the premises itself.
Skill competitions and free prize draws
Most skill competitions will not be classed as lotteries, as they will not rely wholly on a process of chance to select the winner.
The test that has to be applied is whether the competition (which may either rely on a test of skill, such as sporting ability, or a test of knowledge) is sufficiently difficult to eliminate a significant proportion of players.
Similarly, free prize draws, which do not require payment of an entry fee, are not considered to be lotteries.
More information on lotteries which do not require a licence, including the rules which must be followed, is available from the Gambling Commission.
Public Register
The Gambling Commission public register holds the details of all operating licence holders, personal licence holders and premises licences. For details of other licence and permit holders, please contact the Licensing Team.