Lottery licences

Do I need a lottery registration?

A lottery is a game of chance in which tickets are sold which later may lead to the winning of a prize.

Lotteries may take the form of:

• raffles
• 100 clubs
• prize draws.

A lottery must be conducted for charitable purposes, and never for personal gain.

In order to carry out a lottery, you will need to apply to the licensing team for a small society lottery registration, unless the lottery meets any of the exemptions below:

• customer lottery – this is when customers of a business pay to take part in a lottery, the lottery cannot be advertised anywhere outside of the business or sold to anyone who is not a customer of the business
• work lottery – only employees of a company can participate
• incidental lotteries – a lottery that is held at an event but is not the main feature of the event, the tickets must be sold and the prizes drawn on the same day, for example, a tombola at a school fair
• private society lottery – only members of the society can take part
• residential lottery – only people living in the premises can take part, for example, a care home.

A small society lottery must only be conducted for charitable purposes and never for personal gain.

Guidance on running a lottery (pdf 256kb)

A small society lottery cannot exceed £20,000 in ticket sales for each draw or £250,000 ticket sales within a calendar year.

If your lottery may exceed these limits you will need a lottery operating licence from the Gambling Commission.

The Gambling Commission website can provide information on applying for a lottery licence.

Gambling Commission (external website)

How do I apply for a small lottery registration?

Apply online for a small lottery registration 

In order to apply for a small society lottery registration you will need to complete the application form and send it along with a fee of £40 to the licensing team.

Please note: a lottery must only be conducted for charitable purposes, and never for personal gain.

Once your application has been received and processed you will receive a certificate in the post. This will show your registration number and the start date of your registration.

Your lottery must be run in line with the Gambling Act 2005 regulations and a return form must be completed after each draw showing the income and expenditure of the lottery.

Lottery Return form (pdf 63kb)

Your lottery registration will only continue to be valid if you pay the annual fee of £20 each year before or on the date the registration was granted.

Failure to pay the annual fee will result in the lapse of the registration. If you then want to continue to hold a lottery you will be required to submit a new application at the cost of £40.

How do I pay for a small lottery registration?

Payment can be made by cheque made payable to East Riding of Yorkshire Council direct to:

Licensing Team
East Riding of Yorkshire Council
County Hall
Cross Street
Beverley
East Yorkshire
HU17 9BA.

or at a cashiers at one of the local customers service centres.

If payment is made at a cashiers at one of the local customer’s service centres you will be required to send a copy of the receipt to the licensing team at the above address.

How do I renew a small lottery registration?

Your lottery registration will only continue to be valid if you pay the annual fee of £20 each year before or on the date the registration was granted.

Apply online to renew a small lottery registration

Payment can be made at a cashiers' desk at one of the customers service centres.

If payment is made to a cashier at one of the customer’s service centres you will be required to send a copy of the receipt to the licensing team:

Licensing Team
East Riding of Yorkshire Council
County Hall
Cross Street
Beverley
East Yorkshire
HU17 9BA.

Failure to pay the annual fee will result in the lapse of the registration. If you then want to continue to hold lotteries you will be required to submit a new application at the cost of £40.

Who enforces and regulates lotteries?

Lotteries are regulated under the terms of the Gambling Act 2005. The licensing team check returns to ensure compliance with the regulations.

The licensing team will also investigate unlicensed lotteries and lotteries, which may be running outside of the regulations. 

If you want to report potentially unlicensed or suspicious lotteries please contact the licensing team providing as much information as possible by email:

Email: licensing@eastriding.gov.uk