The Gambling Act 2005 defines a small society lottery. The definition of this type of lottery breaks down into 2 distinct areas -
- society status - the society in question must be 'non-commercial'
- size of lottery - the total value of tickets to be put on sale per single lottery must be £20,000 or less. Or, the total value of tickets to be put on sale for all their lotteries in a calendar year must not exceed £250,000. If the operator plans to go over either of these values, they will be classed as a large lottery operator. They must then be licensed with the Gambling Commission instead
The promoting society of a small society lottery must be registered with a licensing authority. This is while it is being promoted. The licensing authority must be in the same area as the principal office of the small society lottery. A licensing authority may believe that a society’s principal office is in another area. In this case it should tell the society and the other authority. They should do this as soon as they can.