Lotteries are one of the most popular types of gambling in the UK.
Any type of competition or prize draw scheme will be classed as a lottery if:
- players have to pay in order to take part
- one or more prizes is allocated to one or more players
- prizes are allocated by a process which relies wholly on chance (or if there is more than one round to select a winner, the first round relies wholly on chance).
Because of this wide-ranging definition, several types of competition could fall within the definition of a lottery, including:
- raffles
- tombolas
- sweepstakes
- 100/500 clubs
- prize draws.
In some cases, this will require the promoter to register with us, or obtain a licence from the Gambling Commission.