# Gambling Bill "offers unexpected windfall for charities"

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2004/11/05/gambling-bill-quotoffers-unexpected-windfall-charitiesquot/
- Published: 2004-11-05T00:00:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

External lottery management company Million-2-1 claim that charities stand to benefit
from a clause in the controversial Gambling Bill which will incentivise soon-to-
be illegal prize competitions to switch to lottery status.
Million-2-1 say that 
the Gambling Bill will clamp down on what it says are effectively fake lotteries
and charities will benefit. It will redefine the boundaries between charitable lotteries
and commercial prize competitions, to the benefit of charities.

The company explains that thousands of simple quiz competitions, used throughout
magazines, television, online and through direct mail, will be illegal once the 
if the Gambling Bill is passed. Media and brand owners, who generate significant
revenue by asking consumers to respond to simple questions via premium-rate SMS 
or telephone numbers, will no longer be permitted to run them, as they are effectively
lotteries.

Instead of stopping them, many are expected to use the opportunity to convert the
promotions to full lottery status, “and will therefore have to donate 20% of SMS
or call revenues to good causes.”

## Advertisement

 [⌊Posthub advert. You create the campaign. We'll handle the postal journey. Get started at post-hub.co.uk.⌉](https://fundraising.co.uk/ads/posthub-20261007-300x250/)

The legislation will affect those operators that use a process which neither:

“a) prevents a significant proportion of persons who participate… from receiving
the prize, nor b) prevents a significant proportion of persons who wish to participate…
from doing so.”

Promotions and games which use a question, and charge a premium rate for response,
will therefore be regarded as illegal lotteries once the new legislation is in force.

Million-2-1 say that such promoters face three choices. They can make their competitions
free to enter, make the questions or other skill-mechanisms much harder, or recast
their promotions as lotteries.

CEO of external lottery manager Million-2-1, Chris Sheffield expects many brand 
and media owners to choose the lottery route. Hs said: “faced with a choice between
losing all their revenue, losing a significant proportion of potential customers,
or donating 20% to good causes, most organisations would see the value of taking
the responsible approach and working with an external lottery manager to design 
new forms of promotion for the benefit of consumers.”

 * **[AMA Charity Services wins Motability raffle campaign contract](https://fundraising.co.uk/2005/01/26/ama-charity-services-wins-motability-raffle-campaign-contract/)**(
   26 January 2005)
 * **[Red Cross to benefit from online quiz](https://fundraising.co.uk/2005/02/21/red-cross-benefit-online-quiz/)**(
   21 February 2005)
 * **[Birmingham lottery expands to accept other charities](https://fundraising.co.uk/2005/05/30/birmingham-lottery-expands-accept-other-charities/)**(
   30 May 2005)