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Children and Young Peoples Services

Services for Adults on the Isle of Wight

Gambling Act 2005


Service Description: The Licensing Authority will issue a premises licence for: Casinos, Betting Offices and Race Tracks, Bingo Clubs, Adult Gaming Centres, Family Entertainment Centres. They will issue permits for: Gaming machines in members' clubs and licensed premises, prize gaming and Unlicensed Family Entertainment Centres.

Your FAQ

Question: I would like to run a lottery. Can I?

Answer: Lotteries can only be run in support of good causes, not for private or commercial gain.

Under the 2005 Act a Lottery can be either a simple lottery or a Complex lottery. An arrangement is a simple lottery if:

persons are required to pay to participate in the arrangement;
in the course of the arrangement one or more prizes are allocated to one or more members of a class;and
the prizes are allocated by a process which relies wholly on chance. 2.2
An arrangement is a complex lottery if:

persons are required to pay to participate in the arrangement;
in the course of the arrangement one or more prizes are allocated to one or more members of a class;
the prizes are allocated by a series of processes; and the first of those processes relies wholly on chance.
Exempt Lotteries
Exempt lotteries do not require a licence from the Gambling Commission, although small society lotteries are required to register with their local authority.

In addition to small society lotteries, exempt lotteries include:

incidental non-commercial lotteries - commonly held at charity fund raising events;
private society lotteries - only members of the society and those on society premises can participate in the lottery;
work lotteries - only people who work together on the same premises may participate;
residents' lotteries - only people who live at the same premises may participate;
and

customer lotteries - only customers at the business premises may participate.
Operators of Lotteries
If you intend to operate a lottery or raffle with such that ticket sales from it may exceed £20,000 in a single society lottery or proceeds of previous lotteries in the same calendar year have already reached or may, taking into account that lottery in question, reach £250,000 in one calendar year then the lottery is a large lottery and may only be run under a lottery operating licence issued by the Commission.

Further guidance on Lotteries under the Gambling Act 2005 is available in our Lotteries and the Law (Gambling Act 2005) publication.


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