Ticket information and prizes
All tickets in a society lottery registered with the council must state the:
- name of the society on whose behalf the lottery is promoted
- price of the ticket (which must be the same for all tickets, though there is no limit on ticket prices)
- name and address of the member of the society responsible for the promotion of the lottery
- date of the draw
Sale of tickets
As lotteries are a form of gambling, societies must ensure that children and other vulnerable people are not exploited by their lotteries. The minimum age for participation in a lottery is 16 years. You'll be committing an offence if you invite or someone younger than this enters a lottery.
Tickets should not be sold in the street.
Tickets can be sold:
- from a kiosk
- in a shop
- door-to-door
Prizes
Prizes awarded in small society lotteries can be either cash or non-monetary.
The amount of the money deducted from the proceeds of the lottery to cover prizes must not exceed the limit set out by the act. This states that no more than 80% of the total proceeds of the lottery should be paid out in prizes. This includes any expenses and fees for external lottery managers incurred in running the lottery.
Donated prizes are not counted as part of this limit, as no money would have been drawn to cover their purchase but they should still be declared on the return following the draw.