# Restrictions on ‘incidental’ lotteries to be removed

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2014/08/18/restrictions-incidental-lotteries-removed/
- Published: 2014-08-18T12:24:45+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

The government is  to allow the proceeds of private lotteries to be donated to good
causes. Previoulsy companies, societies and residents groups running “non-commercial
incidental lotteries” ­–­ those that are exempt from Gambling Commission licence
or local authority registration  – were prevented by the Gambling Act 2005 from 
donating the proceeds to good causes.

The Department for Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS) opened a consultation in February
this year after the Red Tap Challenge highlighted the restrictions. In their submissions,
a number of charities reported that they had had to refuse permission for volunteers
to raise money through lotteries because of these restrictions.

DCMS is also removing the requirement for the results of these exempt lotteries 
to be announced during the event. The government’s response to the consultation 
says this will allow events such as balloon races to raise money for good causes.

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However, the government has decided not to extend the removal of restrictions on
workplace lotteries to those that are run across a number of sites because this 
could lead to an “undesirable overlap” with the purpose of small society lotteries.

Read the government response to the Consultation on Incidental Non-Commercial, Private
Society, Work and Residents’ Lotteries.

In a separate move, Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee has announced
an inquiry into society lotteries to examine their role and place “within a system
that includes the Health Lottery and the National Lottery”.

The committee’s inquiry will also address:

* How to ensure that the market delivers the maximum benefit to good causes

* Whether there is a case for relaxing the regulatory requirements relating either
to the minimum amount of proceeds that a society lottery has to return to good causes
or in other areas

* The comparative regulatory positions and protections attaching to society lotteries,
the Health Lottery and the National Lottery.

The inquiry is open for submissions until 6 October.

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