Lottery licence

The Gambling Act 2005 identifies eight types of legal lottery, but only three require a Gambling Commission licence or local authority registration. A quick guide to running a lottery is available from the Gambling Commission website.

Lotteries that do not require a licence

The remaining five lottery types do not require a licence, namely:

• Incidental lotteries taking place at fund raising events such as school fetes, charity dinners to raise funds for charitable purposes and not for private gain.  Tickets may only be sold at the location and during the event.
• Private society lotteries for which only the members of that society can take part
• Work lotteries for which only people who work in the same place and people on the society’s premises can participate
• Residents lotteries which only persons who live in the same premises can enter
• Customer lotteries for which only customers of a particular business can take part

Please refer to the Gambling Commission website for full details and conditions of the lotteries that are exempt from the licensing/registration process.

• Organising small lotteries (PDF)

Lotteries that DO require a licence

Lotteries that DO require a licence/registration from either your local authority or the Gambling Commission are:

• Large society lotteries – is a lottery promoted for the benefit of a non-commercial society, which has distinct aims and objectives and meet the definition of a non-commercial society set out in the Act. This type of lottery falls under the definition of a large lottery and therefore must be licensed by the Gambling Commission if the proceeds may exceed £20,000 in a single lottery, or the combined proceeds in a calendar year have exceeded £250,000.
• Local authority lotteries – is a lottery promoted by a Local Authority, but may use the proceeds for any purpose they wish. These require a licence from the Gambling Commission.
• Small Society Lotteries – is a lottery where the proceeds will not exceed £20,000 in a single lottery and the combined proceeds in a calendar year do not exceeded £250,000. These do not require a licence but do require registration with the local authority in which the society's head office is situated. If these limits are going to be exceeded, it becomes a Large Society Lottery and will require licensing with the Gambling Commission (you should apply before the limits have been exceeded).

Please refer to the Gambling Commission website for full details of all licensing and registration requirements.

• Promoting society and local authority lotteries (PDF)

Conditions of licence

Please refer to the Gambling Commission website. Alternatively, please contact us to discuss your plans.

Fees

Click here for a full list of licence fees

How to apply

Application pack for registration of a non-commercial society (PDF)

Please send your application to the Licensing Authority, Caerphilly County Borough Council, Penallta House, Tredomen Park, Ystrad Mynach, Hengoed. CF82 7PG.

Tacit consent

The application process usually takes 14 days and tacit authorisation does not apply to these applications. This means you must wait until the application has been determined before you proceed.

Making an appointment

The licensing section operate an appointment only system when visiting their offices. If you wish to make an appointment or have any queries regarding the application process please contact us.