Gambling Act 2005

The Gambling Act 2005 authorises the conduct of small lotteries (for example, a sweepstake, a raffle or a draw) by societies for raising money for charitable, sports and other similar purposes, otherwise than for private gain.

The non-commercial society on whose behalf the lottery is promoted must first be registered with the appropriate authority, and the lottery must be conducted in a manner complying with the Act.

For more information please see the Gambling Commission website.

Application Form

The application forms to be completed are as follows:

• Lottery Application Form (Word)
• Lottery Return Form (Word)
• Notice of Change of Authorised Signatories Form (Word)
• Notice of Change of Promoter Form (Word)

Please send all completed application forms to the Licensing Team on ehlicensing@staffordbc.gov.uk.

If you require any help with completing these forms, please call the Licensing Team on 01785 619745 or email ehlicensing@staffordbc.gov.uk.

Registration

The current statutory fee is £40.

When applying for a registration the society must pay a registration fee. Each registration runs for 12 months.

If the society wishes to continue to be registered, they must apply to renew.

Each renewal must include the renewal form and the annual fee of £20 which must be received before each anniversary of the registration.

Please note that lottery registration shall cease on the anniversary date should the full renewal not be received. 

Please contact the Contact Centre if you wish to pay the fees, their telephone number is 01785 619000 or you can email them on info@staffordbc.gov.uk

Ticket Information and Limits on Prizes

Every ticket distributed or sold must specify the name of the society, the name and address of the promoter, the price of the ticket (which must be the same for all tickets) and the date of the lottery.

Every ticket distributed or sold in a lottery must also specify that the society is registered either with the local authority, in which case the name of the authority must be included.

The price of every ticket must be the same and printed on the ticket.

The society on whose behalf the lottery is promoted must first be registered with the Council if their Head Office is within Stafford Borough.

The amount of the proceeds of a society's lottery appropriated for the provision of prizes and expenses together must not exceed 80%.

Appealing against refusal to register a society

If the authority propose to refuse to register the society they must first give the society an opportunity of being heard, and eventually notify their decision to the society.

If registration is finally refused the society has a right to appeal to the Magistrates Court within 21 days of receipt of the notice of decision.

Age Restrictions

No ticket or chance may be sold to any person under the age of 16 years.