Registration of Non-Commercial Society
Small Society lottery promoters must be registered with the local authority.
Society lotteries are those promoted on behalf of a Society which is established and conducted:-
- for charitable purposes;
- for the purpose of enabling participation in, or supporting of, sport, athletics or a cultural activity; or
- for any other non-commercial purpose other than that of private gain.
It is not permissible to establish a Society whose sole purpose is to facilitate lotteries - it must have some other purpose.
The promoting Society of a small Society lottery must, throughout the period during which the lottery is promoted, be registered with the Licensing Board for the area in which the principal premises of the Society are situated.
The total value of tickets to be put on sale per single lottery must be £20,000 or less, or the aggregate value of tickets to be put on sale for all their lotteries in a calendar year must not exceed £250,000. If the operator plans to exceed either of these values then they will be classed as a large lottery operator, and must be licensed with the Gambling Commission.
A Return Form outlining the financial expenditure/proceeds of an event is required to be completed and returned to the Licensing Authority no later than 3 months after the date of the lottery draw.
Further guidance is provided with the application form including tickets and prizes which can be downloaded from the Document Section of this page.