March 23, 2020

Lotteries in Great Britain are not permitted by law unless they fall within one of the following exceptions:

1. large society lotteries or lotteries run for the benefit of a local authority, and authorised by a lottery operating licence issued by the Gambling Commission under the Gambling Act 2005;
2. exempt lotteries under Schedule 11 of the 2005 Act; and
3. the National Lottery, which is governed by a distinct statutory regime.

On 17^th March 2020, the Gambling Act 2005 (Variation of Monetary Limits) Order 2020 was laid before Parliament and comes into force on 7^th April 2020.  The 2020 Order is concerned with lotteries in category 1 above.

The Order amends s 99(3) of the 2005 by increasing the limit on the proceeds of any single lottery (i.e. the aggregate amounts paid to purchase lottery tickets) run by one or more non-commercial societies or local authorities in reliance on a lottery operating licence. The current £4 million limit on proceeds for such a lottery is increased to £5 million. As a result, the maximum prize limit will increase from £400,000 to £500,000, due to the existing rule that a prize cannot exceed 10% of per draw sales.

The Order also increases the limit on the aggregate proceeds of any such lottery promoted wholly or partly in a calendar year in reliance on a lottery operating licence. The limit on annual proceeds for such a lottery is currently £10 million. This is being increased to £50 million, with the Order also putting transitional arrangements in place for the calendar year in which it takes effect.

The Order is in line with the Government’s response of July 2019 to its consultation on society lottery reform, which was published in June 2018. To access the 2020 Order, click here.