We monitor the boundary between lotteries, competitions and free draws to make sure that people who organise lotteries are properly licensed. It is a criminal offence to provide unlicensed lotteries without the correct permissions or exemptions in place. You can read more about how to spot scams in this guide.Īs the regulator for gambling in Great Britain, we have powers to investigate and prosecute individuals who we believe are breaking the law. You should also be aware of lotteries that ask you to send cash overseas, phone an international number or premium rate number. If you see phrases like this, you should avoid taking part in the lottery. Under advertising codes, phrases such as ‘winning will change your life’ are prohibited as they advertise gambling as a solution to financial difficulties. For example, if you are being asked to send payment via PayPal to an individual, or to an individual’s bank details, this is likely to be a fraudulent lottery. There are signs you can look out for to help you avoid illegal lotteries on Facebook. This means that Facebook have confirmed the Page is authentic. Pages that have been verified by Facebook will display a blue check mark. You should also check that the Facebook Page running the lottery is verified. You should not receive an email about a genuine lottery from a personal email address. If the lottery is claiming to be raising funds for a well-known charity, contact the charity before you enter the draw to see if it is legitimate. You can check if an organisation is licensed by us to run an online lottery by searching for them on our public register. We advise you always check that the organisation running the lottery is either licensed by the Gambling Commission or registered with a local authority. There are signs that you can look out for which you should consider before you take part in a lottery on Facebook to help you understand whether they are lawful. There are certain things to look out for before taking part in a Facebook lottery You can read more about free draws and prize competitions. There are ways in which competitions can be run which do not amount to a lottery.įree draws and prize competitions can be run for commercial or private gain and can be used when promoting a product or raffling a high value item such as a car. You should not offer any more competitions until you have taken advice and you are sure that the lottery or raffle you are offering is legal. You should stop offering or advertising the lottery immediately if you don’t have the correct licence.Īll money paid by those who have entered the lottery must be returned to them. You may want to consider other types of fundraising if you don’t want to apply for a Gambling Commission licence.įind out more about legal requirements for lotteries on social media. It is a criminal offence to run an illegal lottery and you could face prosecution. Make sure you understand the requirements before you start to run a lottery. If you intend to run lotteries or raffles that will have ticket sales of more than £20,000 each month, or £250,000 in a calendar year, you’ll need to apply for a licence from us. If your lottery or raffle is smaller than this, you can register with your local authority. Online lotteries include lotteries on social media, auction or selling sites, fundraising platforms and live streaming platforms. You need a licence to run an online lottery. If you are considering running a lottery on Facebook, make sure it is lawful. This is because participants of such lotteries do not benefit from consumer and gambling protection rules in Great Britain as these lotteries are not licensed by us. Unfortunately, many of the lotteries we see promoted on Facebook are illegal and pose a serious risk to the consumer. The number of reports the Gambling Commission has received about social media lotteries has been on the rise in recent years. It is illegal to offer a lottery without the correct licence or legal permission, even where it is intended to raise funds for a good cause. These include charities, hospices, air-ambulance services, sporting or cultural clubs or other not-for-profit causes. Lotteries cannot be run for private or commercial gain and most can only be run for good causes. This includes raffles and tombolas, making them a form of gambling too. The Gambling Act 2005 defines a lottery as a game of chance where the player pays to enter for a prize.
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