Lottery licence

Any society, club, institute, organisation or association of persons that wishes to hold a lottery must register with us.

A lottery is the distribution of prizes by chance where a person purchases a ticket in return for a chance of winning a prize. This includes lotteries conducted wholly or mainly for one or more of the following:

• charitable purposes
• participation in or support of athletic sports or games or cultural activities
• other purposes which are not purposes of private gain of any commercial undertaking

Making an application

Please request an application from us by emailing: ehealth@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk or phoning 028 9244 7300.

In addition to returning the application to us you must:

• specify the address of the organisation or its headquarters and the purpose for which the society was set up and operates
• attach a copy of its lottery scheme showing how it proposes to run its lotteries
• copy the application to the local PSNI district commander in which the office or head office of the society is situated
• pay the appropriate fee 

Fee for a lottery licence

£35.00 for initial registration of a society
£17.50 for a renewal fee each year thereafter on 1 January to maintain the registration. (Non-refundable fee)

Renewing your lottery licence

All lottery licences expire on 31 December.

To make sure your lottery licence remains valid, you must complete and return a Renewal of Registration Form, allowing a minimum of two weeks for processing.

Reasons for refusal

Reasons we may refuse an application include:

• the conditions in the definition of a society’s lottery are not satisfied or if the lottery scheme does not conform to the law
• anyone connected with a lottery promoted or proposed to be promoted on behalf of the society has been convicted of an offence involving lotteries, fraud or dishonesty
• the address of the office or head office of the society is the same as that of the office or head office of another registered society established for the same or a connected purpose
• any lottery promoted by or on behalf of the society within the last 5 years has not been properly conducted

Appealing council’s decision

You can submit an appeal to the county court within 21 days.

Further information

Legal advice on the law should be obtained from a professional legal advisor. 

Further information on the lotteries law may be obtained from Social Policy Unit, Department of Social Development by emailing social.policy@communities-ni.gov.uk

The Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA) provides advice and information to voluntary and community groups on lottery law in Northern Ireland.