Why are these documents relevant to your charity?

Our three documents about raffles and other lotteries provide an overview and practical guidance for anyone wishing to run or be involved in organising a raffle or other type of lottery for a charity or other good cause.

Any such raffle or other lottery is a form of gambling, and, as such, is regulated by gambling legislation.  A raffle or other form of lottery may only be conducted if and as permitted by the Gambling Act 2005 as amended by the Legislative Reform (Exempt Lotteries) Order 2016. (The 2016 amendment partially deregulated lotteries to provide greater scope for carrying out fundraising for the benefit of charities or other good causes.) 

Your charity and its trustees must comply with that legislation.

How can these documents help you plan and run a raffle?

We recommend that you read all three of these documents before planning a raffle. 

This will save you time when you are planning your raffle. It will also ensure that you do not commit a criminal offence inadvertently by running a raffle in a way that infringes the Gambling Act, and, where it is necessary to alter your plans in a way to render the raffle lawful, it will help you identify the changes needed and how to make them.

Updated documents 

All three of these documents have recently been fully updated. They comprise:

• Guidance Note on Law and Practice of Running Lotteries (giving the legal background to lotteries)
• Description of Lawful Raffles (giving examples of various types of lawful raffles)
• Checklist for Lawful Raffles (explaining those features of a raffle that will render it either lawful or otherwise).