Please read regarding Lottery/Raffle Prize draws

[newboy]

Good point.I think the confusion started when the National lottery numbers were suggested as a way of picking the winner.They were simple raffles and not covered under any gaming laws.

 

[OddJob]

but seems sometimes the B.S gets in the way

Welcome to paintball!
Raffles seem to be an accident waiting to happen, though the mods have done well in the past making sure people aren't getting an ecessive amount from them. It would be a little tiring after a while, the first couple were exciting but I do not have the cash to throw away any more.

 

[Dusty]

End of the day, this has been discussed with the bosses. You agree to adhere to the rules and regs of this site when you register, and the bosses reserve the right to change or amend the rules as and when required. Rest assured the rules will not be changed unless it is for everyones benefit.

 

[Dark Warrior]

Email to Gambling commision

If a person has an item, that he owns and wishes to sell, in the classified section on a members forum, decides that he will sell 49 tickets at £15. The person who has the ticket number that corresponds with the first number drawn on Saturdays National lotto draw wins the said item. Is this still a private sale or is it covered by raffles and lotteries legislation. Currently we have several of these "raffles" now running and we need to know if they are in any way illegal, If not them we can at least set some guidelines for the members. If they are illegal then we can shut them all down.

Thier reply

Thank you for your email dated 10 November 2008.



Your enquiry would work on the same principal as a house lottery/raffle.



It is unlawful in the UK to perform a lottery for private or commercial gain; therefore you would be unable to raffle a house. If you wish to perform it as a competition you can do this without obtaining a licence but it must be based on skill rather than just chance.



The Commission does not regulate prize (skill competitions) or free draws, although, we do monitor the boundary between them and lotteries. To help operators of prize competitions and free draws to distinguish them from lotteries we have issued guidance (attached). We need to be careful that we are not drawn into ‘approving’ or advising on the content and structure of schemes for which we have no statutory or regulatory responsibility.



It is the responsibility of the designers and promoters of prize comps to ensure that they are lawful and they should be better placed than Gambling Commission say whether or not they are based on skill rather than chance and can seek independent legal advice if they wish.



A genuine prize competition is one that contains a requirement to exercise skill or judgement or to display knowledge and where it can reasonably be expected that that requirement will either:



(a) Prevent a significant proportion of people who wish to participate from doing so (section 14(5)(b) of the Gambling Act 2005 Act); or



(b) Prevent a significant proportion of people who participate from receiving a prize (section14 (5) (a)).



If either one of these barriers to entry or success can be shown, the process will not be deemed to rely wholly upon chance, and the arrangement will not be a lottery.



You will need to make sure the proposed competition is lawful in the UK and will need to refer to a specialist licensing firm if required as the Commission is unable to give detailed advice on matters it does not regulate.



The advice in this email is not a comprehensive or binding interpretation of the law and the Commission suggests that you seek independent legal advice before proceeding with your proposals. A copy the Gambling Act 2005 can be found via the following link: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005/ukpga_20050019_en_1





The Law Society have added some guidance information on their website for solicitors please see the link below http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/productsandservices/practicenotes/housecompetitions/1436.article



If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact the enquiries team on 0121 230 6666.



Yours Sincerely,



Anna-Marie Dangerfield

Licensing



Gambling Commission

Victoria Square House

Victoria Square

Birmingham B2 4BP



Tel: 0121 230 6666

Fax: 0121 230 6720

In a follow up conversation it was also made clear that they class the forum as public as it is open for anyone to view and join without restriction.

 

[Rider]

although there may be a loophole then that would allow raffles to be run within plat club as it is NOT public as you must pay a membership making it a private raffle.....?

 

[Lump]

although there may be a loophole then that would allow raffles to be run within plat club as it is NOT public as you must pay a membership making it a private raffle.....?

no sorry

 

[Rider]

thought not - but worth a shot, lol

 

[Random Invert]

Just to clarify, a lottery can't be run where all funds to go a private individual, but in the future could they be run if funds were going towards a charity?

(Not that I intend to run any, but with the current fundraising thats going on through the forum thought I'd ask the question)

 

[Dark Stranger]

Ill bet you all a fiver your wrong

 

[scoobytgi]

although there may be a loophole then that would allow raffles to be run within plat club as it is NOT public as you must pay a membership making it a private raffle.....?

I think you just have to ask a qualifying question like they do on all the TV competitions - Then that qualifies the Skill section - Not saying that we should do that to loop round the law, just that you could