The licence conditions and codes of practice (LCCP) for society lotteries are to come under scrutiny after the UK Gambling Commission has launched a new public consultation for lottery reform.
The consultation will consider the current regulatory requirements in place for society lotteries to ensure that issues related to the fair and open licensing objective, regarding transparency to consumers, are addressed.
Launched on 19 December, the consultation will run until 12 March 2020. In its statement, the UKGC also highlighted a number of concerns regarding ‘the lack of transparency in relation to odds of winning a prize, how much of the money raised through ticket sales goes to good causes and which good causes are supported.’
It is hoped that this will ensure lotteries ‘continue to be run in a fair and open manner, including that consumers have all the information they require to make informed decisions before deciding to gamble.’
Section 99 of the Gambling Act 2005 requires the UKGC to assign a number of conditions to lottery operating licences issued to non-commercial societies or local authorities.
The commission explained: “These conditions include the monetary or percentage limits on proceeds (ticket sales) and prizes in lotteries run by such societies or by local authorities. Section 99(11) of the Act permits the Secretary of State to vary by Order a monetary amount or percentage set out in section 99.
“Section 99(10) of the Act permits the Commission to set similar, or alternatively more onerous, conditions on a lottery operating licence.
“This means that the Order (if implemented) will make changes to the limits in legislation. However, until those changes are reflected in the licence conditions attached to society lottery operating licences, operators will not be able to benefit from them. To make changes to the LCCP, the Commission is required to consult those affected.”
