Rules on raffle vs lottery case study information
Dear Gambling Commission,
I am looking for information from your internal policy and guidance if with all the below factors if an organisation would be deemed a lottery or raffle. For this purpose the below is a hypothetical.
1. The free entry route requires paid postage
2. They advise they can take 2 business days to register entries
3. They register entries in the morning prior to receiving mail so using 2 business days an entry received on the Monday may not be registered until the Wednesday
4. Taking 1,2,3 and the delivery timeframe of Royal Mail (1-2 business days average) meaning it an entry send on the Monday may not be registered until the following Monday (5 business days)
5. Many high value competitions have timeframes of exactly and often less than 5 business days resulting in a significant proportion of entires not being registered on time
Yours faithfully,
Conor Lyons
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Dear Mr Lyons
Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
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Information Management Team
Gambling Commission
Victoria Square House
Victoria Square
Birmingham B2 4BP
Dear Mr Lyons,
I have provided some information below that you should find useful. You
should also look at the [1]fundraising and lotteries information on our
website. I’m afraid we cannot provide advice on specific proposals.
Raffles (also known as lotteries) are promoted for the benefit of a
non-commercial society. A society is non-commercial if it is established
and conducted:
· For charitable purposes
· To enable participation in sport or a cultural activity (for
example theatre)
· For any non-commercial purpose other than that of private gain.
Please note that raffles cannot be run for private or commercial gain.
So to confirm, Lotteries and raffles are the same. Unfortunately, we are
not able to provide business or legal advice. If you remain unsure on
whether your idea is legal then you may wish to seek legal advice.
Alternatively, you may be able to find the information you are looking in
the link below.
[2]LCCP Condition 11.1.1 Lotteries – societies and local authorities
(gamblingcommission.gov.uk)
Your enquiry reference number is; 1-356110946
Yours sincerely,
M Mason
Contact Team Advisor
GAMBLING COMMISSION
Victoria Square House
Victoria Square
Birmingham B2 4BP
Tel: 0121 230 6666
[3]www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk
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