There is no legal definition of a lottery in the law of Northern Ireland. Lotteries in Northern Ireland must meet the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries (NI) Order 1985, as amended by the Betting and Lotteries (NI) Order 1994 and as added to by the Lotteries Regulations. Sometimes, large charitable institutions outsource part of the work involved in running large-society lotteries to an external lottery manager (ELM). You can find Gambling Commission guidance on ELMs here. For more information see the Gambling Commission’s guidance on organising small lotteries.įor lotteries which fall within categories 4 and 5, the society must have the relevant permission from either a local authority (in the case of small society lotteries) or the Gambling Commission (in the case of large society lotteries) before marketing or selling tickets. You can visit the Gambling Commission’s website for more information on small-society lotteries that don’t need a licence and society lotteries which need a licence or registration. These do not need a licence or permission from any authority (although you should get permission from the event organiser or site owner).

Lotteries which fall within categories 1 and 2 above do not need a licence or permission from any authority if the charitable institution meets the rules that apply. Tombolas, lotteries and raffles held at events which fall within category 2 are a common type of fundraising. However, that does not prevent you or those fundraising on your behalf from running lotteries under another appropriate category.

(These are run by local authorities and so are outside the scope of the code.)Įach type of lottery has its own standards and you can find an overview of these in the Gambling Commission Guidance.Ī lottery run by or for the benefit of a charitable institution will fall under the definition of a society lottery. (Please note that, as customer lotteries cannot make a profit, they are not suitable for fundraising.)

Lotteries held at events (known as ‘incidental lotteries’).

The Gambling Act 2005 created six categories of lotteries.

In the law of England, Wales and Scotland, a lottery is a type of gambling which has three essential characteristics.

Lotteries include raffles, tombolas, sweepstakes and some other activities.

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