Small society lotteries

You must register with us if your society is based in Cumberland and you want to run a small society lottery.

A small society lottery is one where:

• no more than £20,000 worth of tickets are sold in a single draw
• total proceeds do not exceed £250,000 in a calendar year

Small society lotteries do not need a licence from the Gambling Commission, but they must be registered with us. Your registration must remain valid for the entire period the lottery is promoted.

You can find more guidance about small society lotteries on the Gambling Commission's website.

What you need to do

Your society must be established and run for one or more of the following purposes:

• charitable purposes
• supporting or taking part in sport, games or cultural activities (for example theatre)
• any other purpose that is not for private or commercial gain

Before you run a lottery

Before holding your first lottery, your society must:

• nominate a member of the society as the lottery promoter
• approve a lottery scheme
• notify us in writing

You may appoint an external lottery manager to run the lottery. They must be:

• a member or employee of the society
• a company wholly owned by the society
• a person certificated as a lottery manager by the Gambling Commission
• an employee of a certificated lottery manager

Applications for certification must be made to the Gambling Commission.

Submit your application

Send your completed forms to the relevant email:

Email (Allerdale): [email protected]

Email (Carlisle): [email protected]

Email (Copeland): [email protected]