Organising a Raffle

Running a raffle requires planning across several areas: legal compliance, budgeting, prize sourcing, ticket production, promotion, and the draw itself. The amount of preparation depends on the type of raffle — an incidental lottery at a school fair needs less lead time than a small society lottery selling tickets over several weeks. Most raffles of this scale follow an eight-week planning timeline from decision to draw day.

Choosing the Right Raffle Type

The first decision is which type of raffle suits the organisation and the event. The legal requirements, costs, and administrative obligations differ significantly between types. The three most common options for community organisations are:

Incidental lottery — the simplest option. Tickets are sold and the draw takes place at a single event. No registration or licence is required. Maximum prize deduction from proceeds is £500, and maximum expenses are £100. Suitable for school fairs, quiz nights, charity dinners, and community events where tickets are sold and drawn on the same occasion.

Small society lottery — required when tickets are sold in advance of the draw or when prize values exceed incidental lottery limits. The society must register with the local authority (£40 initial fee, £20 annual renewal). Per-draw proceeds are capped at £20,000, and at least 20% must go to the society's purposes. Suitable for PTAs, sports clubs, charities, and churches running planned fundraising raffles.

Private lottery — restricted to members of a single society, workplace, or residential premises. No registration or licence is required, but no external advertising is permitted and all proceeds must go to prizes or the society's purposes. Suitable for internal workplace or club draws.

Full details of each type and their rules are covered in Raffle Types and UK Raffle Law.

Planning Timeline

The timeline below assumes a small society lottery with tickets sold in advance. Incidental lotteries need less lead time — typically two to three weeks — since there are fewer administrative steps.

Eight weeks before the draw

Confirm the raffle type and check whether the society is already registered with the local authority. If not, apply for small society lottery registration. Processing times vary by council but are typically two to four weeks.

Appoint a promoter — the named individual who takes legal responsibility for the lottery. The promoter's name and address will appear on every ticket. This is usually the treasurer, secretary, or chair of the organising committee.

Set the fundraising target and work backwards to determine ticket quantity, pricing, and prize budget.

Six weeks before the draw

Begin sourcing prizes. Approach local businesses with a written request explaining the charity, the event, and the benefit to the donor (acknowledgement on tickets, posters, and at the event). Allow businesses at least two weeks to respond.

Confirm the draw date, venue, and format. Decide whether the draw will be public, live-streamed, or conducted privately with witnesses.

Four weeks before the draw

Finalise the ticket specification. Confirm that all legally required information is included: society name, ticket price, promoter name and address, and draw date. For full requirements, see Ticket Requirements.

Order tickets. Allow adequate production and delivery time — most print orders require five to seven working days. Order at least twice the number of tickets the society expects to sell. Unsold tickets are a lower-cost problem than running out of tickets during a successful sales period.

Two weeks before the draw

Brief volunteers on the sales plan: where and when tickets will be sold, the price, how to handle cash and card payments, and the legal requirement not to sell to anyone under 16.

Begin promotion. Communicate the raffle to the target audience through the society's usual channels — newsletters, noticeboards, social media, and direct communication. For small society lotteries, advertising must comply with Gambling Commission rules on promoting lotteries.

Draw day

Set up the draw area. Display prizes clearly. Have the draw method prepared — hat, drum, or random number generator. Arrange for independent witnesses (two is standard practice). Record the draw, preferably by video. Announce winners and arrange prize collection.

After the draw

Submit the lottery return to the local authority within three months. The return must show total proceeds, amounts deducted for prizes and expenses, and the amount applied to the society's purposes. Retain all records for three years. See Returns and Reporting for full details.

Setting a Fundraising Target

Working backwards from a fundraising target is the most reliable way to plan ticket quantity and pricing. The key variables are:

• Target amount — the net sum the society wants to raise
• Prize costs — total value of prizes purchased (donated prizes reduce this)
• Expenses — ticket printing, promotion, event costs
• Ticket price — the price per ticket
• Sell-through rate — the percentage of printed tickets that are actually sold

A society aiming to raise £2,000 net with £500 in prize costs and £200 in expenses needs £2,700 in ticket sales. At £1 per ticket, that requires selling 2,700 tickets. With a typical sell-through rate of 60–70%, the society would need to print 4,000–4,500 tickets.

For small society lotteries, the 20% rule must also be satisfied: at least 20% of gross proceeds must go to the society's purposes after deducting prizes and expenses.

More detailed calculations are covered in Ticket Quantities and Ticket Pricing.

Budgeting

A raffle budget has three components: income (ticket sales), costs (prizes and expenses), and the net amount to the society's purposes.

The 20% minimum to good causes is comfortably met in this example. Problems usually arise when prize costs are high relative to ticket sales — either because expensive prizes were purchased rather than donated, or because sell-through was lower than expected.

Team and Volunteer Roles

A raffle of any significant scale needs more than one person. The core roles are:

Promoter — the legally named individual responsible for the lottery. Takes overall responsibility for compliance, record keeping, and submitting returns. This is a legal requirement for small society lotteries, not just good practice.

Prize coordinator — approaches businesses and individuals for prize donations, tracks what has been received, and organises display and labelling at the event.

Ticket coordinator — manages ticket ordering, distribution to sellers, collection of unsold tickets and stubs, and reconciliation of sales against cash received.

Sellers — individuals who sell tickets to the public. Each seller needs to understand the price, the rules on under-16 sales, and the process for handling cash. For small society lotteries, sellers are acting on behalf of the society and must be authorised by the promoter.

Draw steward — manages the draw procedure on the day, including the physical draw, witness arrangements, and recording.

Prize Sourcing

The most cost-effective raffles source the majority of prizes through donation rather than purchase. Local businesses, national brands with community programmes, parent communities, and congregation members are all common sources of donated prizes.

A written approach to businesses is more effective than a verbal request. The approach should name the organisation, explain the charitable purpose, describe the event, state the expected audience, and explain how the donor will be credited (on tickets, posters, or announced at the draw).

For full details on prize rules, limits, and categories, see Raffle Prizes.

Ticket Ordering

Ticket quantity depends on the expected audience size, sales period, number of sellers, and ticket price. The general rule is to order at least twice the expected sales volume. Running out of tickets during a successful sales period costs the society far more in lost revenue than the cost of printing additional tickets that go unsold.

The ticket specification must include all legally required information before the order is placed. Changes after printing are not possible, and incorrect tickets can render the lottery non-compliant. See Ticket Requirements for the full specification.

For guidance on calculating the right quantity, see Ticket Quantities.

Promotion

How a raffle is promoted depends on the raffle type and the rules that apply to it.

Incidental lotteries may only be promoted at the event itself. Pre-event advertising of the raffle is permitted (to encourage event attendance), but ticket sales must happen at the event.

Small society lotteries may promote and sell tickets in advance. Promotion can include posters, flyers, newsletters, social media, and direct communication with the society's audience. However, advertising must not be misleading, and any claims about the odds of winning or the value of prizes must be accurate.

The most common mistake is promoting ticket sales through channels that effectively amount to selling online. For small society lotteries, selling tickets online requires the society to hold a remote lottery operating licence from the Gambling Commission. Promoting the raffle online and directing buyers to purchase in person is the compliant alternative. See Online Raffles for the full legal position.

Draw-Day Logistics

On the day of the draw, the organiser needs to manage several practical elements.

Setup — display prizes visually so that buyers can see what they are entering to win. Number each prize and ensure it corresponds to the list the draw steward holds. Have a visible, accessible draw area.

Sales — if selling at an event, position sellers at entry points and high-traffic areas. Ensure each seller has a float for change and a secure way to store cash. Track total tickets sold per seller for reconciliation.

The draw — conduct the draw visibly and fairly. Have at least two independent witnesses present. Record the draw by video where possible. Draw winning tickets one at a time, announce the number, and verify the winner. For more on draw methods and procedure, see The Raffle Draw.

After the draw — collect all unsold tickets and stubs. Reconcile total tickets sold against cash received. Arrange prize collection for any winners not present. Record the names of winners and the prizes awarded.

Post-Raffle Obligations

For small society lotteries, the promoter must submit a return to the local authority within three months of the draw. The return is a statutory requirement — failure to submit is a compliance breach that can result in the society's registration being revoked.

Separately, the organiser should reconcile all income and expenses, bank the proceeds, and report the outcome to the society's governing body. All records — tickets, stubs, financial records, draw records, and returns — must be retained for at least three years.

Winners who have not collected prizes should be contacted using the information on their ticket stubs. Standard practice is to allow 28 to 30 days for collection before treating a prize as unclaimed. The society's terms and conditions should specify what happens to unclaimed prizes. See Unclaimed Prizes.

Questions about organising a raffle? See our help centre.

Last reviewed: February 2026