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Asked by: Lovie Pietri
events and attractions casinos and gamblingCan you hold a raffle without a Licence?
Under the Gambling Act 2005, a raffle is considered to be a lottery and must be run in accordance with the law so your new group member may be right. At these kinds of events where any money raised isn't for private gain, you can run a non-commercial lottery without a licence.
Also question is, how do you legally hold a raffle?
Not every nonprofit organization is allowed to hold a raffle. To be eligible to hold a raffle of any kind, the organization must have been in existence and operating for at least a year. You cannot hold a raffle in attempts to get a brand new organization off the ground.
Subsequently, one may also ask, do I need a gambling Licence for a raffle?
If you are running a raffle where tickets are not sold before the event, it falls under the terms of an 'incidental lottery'. As such, you will not require a licence or any specific permissions. All tickets must be sold at the location during the event.
No, the sale of raffle tickets to cover personal items is not an eligible expense from gaming proceeds. You cannot sell raffle tickets for this purpose. If you do so, you could be subject to a criminal investigation and criminal charges.