You should stop offering or advertising the lottery immediately if you don’t have the correct licence.Īll money paid by those who have entered the lottery must be returned to them. You may want to consider other types of fundraising if you don’t want to apply for a Gambling Commission licence.įind out more about legal requirements for lotteries on social media. It is a criminal offence to run an illegal lottery and you could face prosecution. Make sure you understand the requirements before you start to run a lottery. If you intend to run lotteries or raffles that will have ticket sales of more than £20,000 each month, or £250,000 in a calendar year, you’ll need to apply for a licence from us. If your lottery or raffle is smaller than this, you can register with your local authority. Online lotteries include lotteries on social media, auction or selling sites, fundraising platforms and live streaming platforms.

You need a licence to run an online lottery. If you are considering running a lottery on Facebook, make sure it is lawful. This is because participants of such lotteries do not benefit from consumer and gambling protection rules in Great Britain as these lotteries are not licensed by us. Unfortunately, many of the lotteries we see promoted on Facebook are illegal and pose a serious risk to the consumer. The number of reports the Gambling Commission has received about social media lotteries has been on the rise in recent years. It is illegal to offer a lottery without the correct licence or legal permission, even where it is intended to raise funds for a good cause. These include charities, hospices, air-ambulance services, sporting or cultural clubs or other not-for-profit causes. Lotteries cannot be run for private or commercial gain and most can only be run for good causes.

This includes raffles and tombolas, making them a form of gambling too.

The Gambling Act 2005 defines a lottery as a game of chance where the player pays to enter for a prize.

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