Raffles are a great and easy way to raise money. However, some raffles need to be registered with your local council or the Gambling Commission. The main types of raffle and the legal requirements for each one are detailed below.

Small Raffle
This is the easiest raffle to organise as it does not require registration. Tickets are only sold during your event, not before, and they must not cost more than £1 a ticket.  You can spend a maximum of £250 on prizes but all donated prizes can be accepted. You cannot offer a cash prize but gift vouchers are OK. All the money raised must be donated to St Catherine’s.

Private Raffle
You do not need to register this raffle. Tickets for this can be sold to people living or working in the same premises, or who are members of an organisation. This type of raffle can only be advertised on the premises or on the tickets.

Society Raffle
A society raffle enables tickets to be sold over a period of time to the general public. It is run by a group of people and must be registered with your local authority or gaming board. There are strict rules regarding this sort of raffle and you must contact the fundraising department on 01293 447319 before you start.

Prize Competition
If you want to sell tickets before an event but don’t want to go to the trouble of registering your raffle with your council or gaming board, you can hold a prize competition. Tickets are sold as in a raffle but entrants must answer a question as well as paying an entrance fee. The question should not be too easy or you may have to set a tie-breaker. This is not a raffle - just an alternative way of raising funds by ticket.

The law on raffles can be confusing. You should be aware that all raffles and lotteries are illegal unless they fall into the categories above. For further advice call the fundraising team  01293 447 319.

Top Tips!

• If you are holding a raffle at an event, make sure you have plenty of helpers to sell and fold the tickets.

• When organising a prize draw and setting a question and tiebreaker always choose questions with a one-word answer. You can see at a glance whether someone has answered the question correctly!