Great Yarmouth Borough Council

Society’s lotteries
The lotteries and amusements Act, 1976 controls the conduct of small lotteries, raffles, etc. by societies raising money for charitable, sports and other similar purposes, otherwise than for personal gain.

Under section 5 of the Lotteries and Amusements Act, 1976, if a society wishes to hold a raffle and sell draw tickets to the public in advance, the society on whose behalf the lottery is promoted must first be registered with the Council if the head office is within the boundaries of Great Yarmouth Borough Council. The fee for registering a society’s lottery is 35.00 and a renewal fee of 17.50 is due each January.

There are rules as to the amount of proceeds that a lottery must not exceed, the amount of prizes and expenses that can be deducted from a lottery and the printing and sale of tickets.

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Guidance notes (51kb) on society’s lotteries.

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Application form (43kb)

Small lotteries incidental to exempt entertainments
Under section 3 of the Lotteries and Amusements Act, 1976, small lotteries held ancillary to an exempt entertainment (such as a fete) can be held without a licence, providing certain conditions are met. One of the conditions is that the whole proceeds of the entertainment (and not just the lottery) are devoted to charitable purposes.

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Guidance notes (35kb)

For additional information and advice, please contact:

The Licensing Team
Great Yarmouth Borough Council
Town Hall
Great Yarmouth
NR30 2QF
Telephone: 01493 846327
Fax: 01493 846332
Email: licensing@great-yarmouth.gov.uk

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