In Northern Ireland, 1 in 5 of the adult population of Northern Ireland play raffles, or scratchcards other than National Lottery products yet figures obtained from local councils responsible for registering society lotteries shows proceeds of only £1.3m from games. There are in total only 173 registered society lotteries across all of NI according to council figures but there is a large number of organisations running games that should report to councils that are not registered. There is potentially millions of pounds unaccounted for.
“These games are played by the public, so the rules and regulations are there to give them assurance and confidence their money is going to a good cause, they have a fair chance of a prize and that there are authorities in place safeguarding this” said Neil Irwin who conducted the research.
Lotteries, ballots and raffles etc that are sold to the general public other than at small events, must be registered with their local council but information obtained under Freedom of Information has found that in some councils as few as 2 or 3 societies are listed across the whole of the council area.
“Considering the number of sports clubs and charities running raffles and lotteries it is absurd to think that a council can only have 2 societies registered.” Neil said.
Seven out of the eleven councils did not keep the records of returns from societies registered with them, which means there are no numbers available and therefore more millions missing from the records.
The largest registered society lottery in Northern Ireland raised proceeds in excess of £330,000 in 2016 and was run by the RUC Sports Club at Newforge but the vast majority were much smaller than this according to council figures.
In Great Britain, where rules are different, there are 611 lotteries registered with the Gambling Commission. Each society, on average, sells £255,097 worth of tickets per year, raises £134,950 in good causes and provides customers with £51,698 worth of prizes. This does not include small GB lotteries that register with local councils in Great Britain.
Research into raffles, ballots and lotteries has also found that there is widespread use of games that offer tickets at a price above the legal maximum of £1, and that games do not routinely enable players to buy just 1 ticket for a pound or less – again as is required by law. It is fair to say that the Department for Communities that is responsible for the regulations does not actively promote the rules and regulations and there is very little evidence of enforcement of non-compliance.
Neil Irwin of nifundraising speaking about non-compliant games said “this seems to go beyond the non-compliance of a few organisations not understanding or applying the rules but a systematic failure in practice, governance and enforcement of this important area of fundraising for good causes.”
Research found two high profile websites that provide a service to local clubs and offer the public opportunities to play lottery games across the country (indeed across the whole island in one case). Games on these websites include those promoted by one of the countries largest political parties. Many of the sports clubs on these sites are unregistered and run games with rollover jackpots, that on the face of it, break the regulations on prizes that date back to 1985. Ultimately the board members and trustees of these charities and sports clubs need to ensure they are correctly registered and anyone promoting a lottery on their behalf has a Court Order to do so.
Commenting about potentially illegal lotteries Neil said, “I easily found widespread practice of non-compliant lotteries, virtually in every corner of country. This makes it very frustrating for charities and sports clubs trying to sustain their services and keeping within the regulations.”
"I also found that the PSNI enquiry line was misinformed of their responsibility to enforce the legislation, directing me incorrectly to the Gambling Commission."
Summing up recommendations from the report Neil Irwin said, “There is a clear need to update the secondary legislation on tickets prices, prizes and other limits and to clarify the law in other areas to ensure charities and sports clubs can utilise lottery fundraising to continue to provide public benefit – but while the law remains as it is there should be greater awareness of the law and enforcement of the worst non-compliance – especially where there may be private gain, potential fraud or risk to public confidence."
Neil Irwin has established a social enterprise, Good Raffle C.I.C. with the aim promote good practice in all society lotteries and run a raffle in Northern Ireland in support of local good causes. It is hoped to launch later this year.
NOTE: This article is about society lotteries were tickets are sold to the general public. Local lotteries, raffles and ballots held incidentally at small scale events do not fall under the Society Lotteries legislation. Private lotteries were tickets are sold on the premises to members and do not raise more that £1,000 are also exempt from the Societies Lotteries legislation.
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