Small Society Lotteries

A small society lottery is the most common category for organised raffles in the UK. It applies when a non-commercial society — a charity, school PTA, sports club, church, or community group — sells raffle tickets in advance of the draw and operates within defined financial limits. Registration is with the local authority, not the Gambling Commission, and the process is straightforward. The registration fee is £40, with an annual renewal of £20.

What Qualifies as a Small Society

To register for a small society lottery, the organisation must be a non-commercial society — one established and conducted for purposes other than private gain. The Gambling Act 2005 defines these as societies established for:

• charitable purposes
• the purpose of enabling participation in, or supporting, sport, athletics, or a cultural activity
• any other non-commercial purpose

PTAs, registered charities, sports clubs, scout groups, churches, community associations, rotary clubs, and similar organisations all qualify. A business, commercial enterprise, or group of individuals acting for personal profit does not.

The society must also operate within the small society financial limits. If any draw exceeds the per-draw threshold or the society's total annual lottery proceeds exceed the annual threshold, it must apply for an operating licence from the Gambling Commission before the draw that would breach the limit.

Registration Process

Registration is with the local authority (district, borough, or unitary council) in the area where the society's principal office is located. The process is as follows:

Step 1: Identify the correct local authority. This is the council for the area where the society is based — not where the raffle will take place, and not where the majority of ticket buyers live. A PTA registers with the council for the area where the school is located.

Step 2: Complete the application. Most local authorities provide an online application form or a downloadable form. The application requires the society's name, address, charitable or non-commercial purpose, and the name and contact details of the applicant.

Step 3: Pay the registration fee. The initial fee is £40. Payment methods vary by council — online payment, bank transfer, or cheque.

Step 4: Await confirmation. The local authority has 28 days to grant or refuse registration. Refusal is uncommon but can occur if the society does not meet the non-commercial requirement, if a previous registration has been revoked, or if the applicant has a relevant conviction.

Step 5: Begin operating. Once registration is confirmed, the society may run lotteries immediately, subject to the operating rules below.

Processing times vary between councils. Some confirm within a week; others take the full 28 days. Societies planning a raffle with a fixed date should apply well in advance to ensure registration is in place before tickets are printed or sold.

Annual Renewal

Registration must be renewed annually. The renewal fee is £20. Most local authorities send a renewal reminder, but the obligation to renew sits with the society — if renewal lapses, the society is no longer registered and cannot lawfully run a lottery until re-registration is complete.

Operating Limits

Every small society lottery must operate within the following financial limits:

Proceeds per draw

"Proceeds" means gross ticket sales revenue — the total amount received from selling tickets before any deductions. If the society sells 4,000 tickets at £2 each, the proceeds are £8,000. This figure must not exceed £20,000 for any single draw.

Annual proceeds

The £250,000 annual limit is the combined total of proceeds from all lotteries run by the same society in a rolling twelve-month period. A society running monthly draws must track the cumulative total and ensure it does not exceed this threshold.

Maximum single prize

No individual prize may have a value exceeding £25,000. This is the retail or market value of the prize, not its cost to the society. A car donated to the society for use as a raffle prize must be valued at market price — if it is worth £30,000, it exceeds the limit regardless of what the society paid for it.

Minimum to good causes

At least 20% of the proceeds from each draw must be applied to the purposes of the society. "Purposes" means the charitable, sporting, cultural, or other non-commercial objectives for which the society was established. This is calculated on each individual draw, not annually.

If a draw generates £5,000 in proceeds, at least £1,000 must reach the society's purposes. The remaining £4,000 may be split between prizes and expenses — but in practice, societies typically allocate significantly more than the minimum 20% to their purposes.

Expenses

There is no statutory cap on expenses as a percentage of proceeds, but the Gambling Commission's guidance expects expenses to be reasonable and proportionate. Societies where expenses consume a large share of proceeds — leaving less for good causes — may face scrutiny from the local authority. A common benchmark is to keep expenses below 20% of proceeds.

Ticket Rules

Small society lottery tickets must comply with specific requirements:

Mandatory information on every ticket:

• Name of the society (matching the registered name)
• Price of the ticket
• Name and address of the promoter (a named individual, not the society)
• Date of the draw

Uniform pricing: All tickets must be the same price. Bundle discounts, early-bird pricing, and multi-buy offers are not permitted. If the ticket states "£1", every ticket in that draw must be sold for £1. See Ticket Requirements for the full specification.

No transfer for profit: Tickets must not be sold for more than the face price. Resale at a premium is prohibited.

Sales channels: Tickets may be sold in person and by post. Selling online requires the society to hold a remote lottery operating licence from the Gambling Commission — a separate and more onerous requirement. See Online Raffles for the legal position on online sales.

The Promoter

Every small society lottery must have a named promoter — a specific individual authorised by the governing body of the society to conduct the lottery. The promoter is not the society itself but a person acting on its behalf.

The promoter's responsibilities include:

• ensuring the lottery complies with all legal requirements
• ensuring tickets are printed with the correct mandatory information
• overseeing ticket sales and record keeping
• conducting or supervising the draw
• submitting the return to the local authority within the deadline
• retaining records for the required period

The promoter's name and postal address appear on every ticket. This is a personal commitment — the promoter is legally accountable for the lottery's compliance. In practice, the promoter is usually the treasurer, secretary, or chair of the organising committee.

A society may have different promoters for different draws, but each individual draw must have one named promoter who takes responsibility for that specific lottery.

Reporting Requirements

The society must submit a return to the local authority after each draw. The return must be submitted within three months of the draw date.

The return must include:

• the date of the draw
• total proceeds (gross ticket sales)
• the amount deducted for prizes
• the amount deducted for expenses
• the amount applied to the society's purposes
• whether an external lottery manager was used

The return must be signed by two members of the society who are authorised to do so (typically two committee members or trustees). Some local authorities provide a standard form; others accept returns in any clear format provided all required information is included.

Failure to submit a return within the deadline is a breach of the registration conditions. Persistent failure can lead to the local authority revoking the society's registration — preventing it from running any further lotteries.

Full details on reporting are covered in Returns and Reporting.

Record Retention

All records relating to each lottery must be retained for a minimum of three years from the date of the draw. This includes:

• ticket stubs and counterfoils (or a record of ticket numbers sold and to whom)
• financial records (income from ticket sales, prize costs, expenses)
• draw records (winning numbers, prizes awarded, witnesses)
• copies of returns submitted to the local authority
• correspondence with the local authority

Local authorities have the power to inspect these records at any time during the three-year retention period. The promoter — or, if the promoter has changed, the society's governing body — is responsible for making records available on request.

Annual Limits and Tracking

Societies running multiple draws per year must track their cumulative annual proceeds to ensure they remain within the £250,000 annual limit. This is a rolling obligation — if total proceeds across all draws in any twelve-month period approach the threshold, the society must either scale back or apply for a Gambling Commission operating licence before the draw that would cause the breach.

In practice, very few community organisations approach the annual limit. A society would need to generate average proceeds of nearly £21,000 per month across twelve months to reach £250,000. However, societies running frequent high-value draws — particularly sports clubs with regular match-day lotteries — should maintain a running total and review it before each new draw.

When to Upgrade to a Large Society Lottery

A society must apply for a Gambling Commission operating licence when:

• a single draw is expected to generate proceeds exceeding £20,000
• total annual lottery proceeds are expected to exceed £250,000
• a single prize will exceed £25,000 in value

The application must be made before the draw that would breach the threshold. Operating a lottery that exceeds small society limits without holding a Gambling Commission licence is a criminal offence.

The annual licence fee for a large society lottery starts at £196. The operating rules are broadly similar but with higher limits: up to £5,000,000 per draw and £50,000,000 per year. The reporting requirements are more detailed and returns are submitted to the Gambling Commission rather than the local authority.

For the full legal framework, see UK Raffle Law.

Questions about small society lotteries? See our help centre.

Last reviewed: February 2026