Quick answer: Yes. In Great Britain a raffle is a lottery, and the Gambling Act 2005 makes lotteries one of 3 forms of gambling. A lottery has 3 features: you pay to enter, there is a prize, and chance decides. Add a genuine free entry route, or a real test of skill, and it becomes a prize draw or prize competition instead.
Key takeaways
- Raffles, tombolas and sweepstakes are all lotteries. They can only be run for good causes or for fun, never for private or commercial gain.
- A prize draw with a genuine free entry route is not a lottery, and neither is a competition that needs real skill, so neither needs a licence.
- The Gambling Commission does not regulate prize draws or competitions but acts against illegal lotteries. The ASA enforces the advertising rules.
Curious how a legal instant win game works in practice? We explain ours on how it works, and new players can claim free tickets.
Is a raffle considered gambling in the UK?
Yes. The Gambling Commission says raffles, tombolas and sweepstakes are all classed as lotteries, and section 3 of the Gambling Act 2005 defines gambling as gaming, betting and participating in a lottery. That does not make a school or club raffle illegal: the Act lets you run several types of small lottery without a licence.
The catch is purpose: in the Commission's words, lotteries "cannot be run for private or commercial gain." Most of the Act applies only in England, Wales and Scotland (section 361), so this guide covers Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own law.
What makes something a lottery in law?
Section 14 of the Gambling Act 2005 says an arrangement is a lottery, whatever it is called, if people pay to take part, one or more prizes are given out, and the prizes are allocated wholly by chance. A complex lottery uses a series of processes, where the first one relies wholly on chance.
Schedule 2 explains that "paying" includes money, money's worth, and paying to find out whether you won or to claim a prize, but not a letter sent by ordinary post. And under section 14(5), an easy skill question that would not stop a significant proportion of people entering or winning counts as pure chance.
What is a prize draw?
A prize draw, sometimes called a free draw, is a chance-based draw that is not a lottery because nobody has to pay to take part. Either every entry is free, or there is a paid route alongside a genuinely free one. The Gambling Commission says you need no licence to run one, provided it meets the Gambling Act's requirements.
For a draw with a paid route, Schedule 2 (paragraph 8) sets four conditions:
- Everyone eligible can choose to pay or to send a communication instead.
- That can be a letter by ordinary post, or another method no more expensive and no less convenient than paying.
- The free choice is publicised so it is likely to reach everyone who wants to take part.
- The prize system does not treat paid and free entries differently.
See our guide to free postal entry competitions for how this works in practice.
What is a prize competition?
A prize competition is one where skill, judgement or knowledge decides the result, at least in part. To stay outside lottery law, the skill test must be hard enough to stop a significant proportion of people entering or winning. The Gambling Commission says multiple-choice questions, or questions that give a second chance, rarely meet that test.
A many-clue crossword passes; one easy question with the answer a search away fails. Section 339 of the Act confirms a genuine competition is not gambling, though only a court can decide for certain.
Raffle vs prize draw vs lottery vs competition: how do they compare?
Two questions decide almost everything: do you have to pay to enter, and does chance alone pick the winner? Pay plus pure chance means a lottery, which must fit an exempt type or hold a licence. Remove the compulsory payment, or make skill decide the result, and different rules apply. The table compares the main formats in Great Britain.
| Format | Payment to enter | Winner chosen by | Licence needed? | Free entry route | Who regulates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raffle at an event, club, workplace or home (exempt lottery) | Yes | Chance | No, if the rules for its type are followed | Not needed | Gambling Act 2005; Gambling Commission guidance |
| Small society lottery (charity or club selling to the public) | Yes | Chance | No, but council registration | Not needed | Local council, under the Act |
| Large society lottery | Yes | Chance | Yes, Gambling Commission licence | Not needed | Gambling Commission |
| The National Lottery | Yes | Chance | Run under a Gambling Commission licence | No | Gambling Commission (National Lottery etc. Act 1993) |
| Free prize draw | No | Chance | No | Every entry is free | ASA (CAP Code) |
| Prize draw with paid and free entry, including online instant wins | Optional | Chance | No, if the free route meets the Act | Required, treated the same as paid | ASA (CAP Code); DCMS voluntary code for signatories |
| Prize competition | Often | Skill, judgement or knowledge | No, if the skill test is genuine | Not needed | ASA (CAP Code) |
| Betting and gaming (bookmakers, casinos, bingo) | Yes | Chance, or the outcome of a bet | Yes, a Gambling Commission operating licence, with narrow exceptions | No | Gambling Commission |
Organising one? Our guide on how to run a raffle legally in the UK covers each lottery type and its limits.
What is the difference between a raffle and a prize draw?
A raffle is a lottery: everyone pays for a ticket and chance picks the winner, so it must be run for a good cause or for fun under one of the lottery types the law allows. A prize draw also uses chance, but offers a genuinely free way to enter, so it is not a lottery.
That is why a business can run a prize draw for profit and sell entries online, while raffle proceeds must go to the good cause and most raffles cannot be sold online at all.
What is the difference between a raffle and a tombola?
Both are lotteries in law, and the Gambling Commission lists tombolas alongside raffles as lotteries you can run at events. The difference is the format: in a raffle, tickets go into a draw and winners are picked afterwards, while in a tombola you pick a ticket from a drum and win straight away if it matches a prize.
Where do online instant win games fit?
Online instant win games in Great Britain usually run as prize draws: you can pay to enter, but there must also be a free entry route treated in exactly the same way. The result is decided at random when you enter, and the CAP Code says players must know straight away what they have won.
MrRaffle works this way. Each game has a fixed number of tickets and a fixed prize list set before it opens, with the odds for each prize tier shown as "1 in X". A free postal entrant is allocated an entry number by random number generator, and the rules are in our competition terms. Not all tickets win a prize.
Who regulates raffles, prize draws and competitions?
Lotteries, including raffles, fall under the Gambling Act 2005, with the Gambling Commission as regulator and local councils registering small society lotteries. Prize draws and competitions are not regulated by the Commission, though it acts against schemes it considers illegal lotteries. Their marketing falls under the ASA's CAP Code, and consumer law applies too.
Promoting an unlicensed, non-exempt lottery is an offence under section 258. DCMS also published a voluntary (not legal) code of good practice for prize draw operators on 20 November 2025.
As a player, use our checklist on how to spot a legit prize competition.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a licence to run a raffle in the UK?
Usually not. Raffles at one-off events, and raffles among club members, colleagues or people who live together, need no licence if they follow the rules for their type. Selling tickets to the public in advance or online usually means registering a small society lottery with your council, or a Gambling Commission licence for larger lotteries.
Can I run my own raffle?
Yes, if it fits one of the exempt types and nobody makes a private profit. You cannot run a raffle to make money for yourself, because lotteries must be for good causes or for fun. To give away something you own in return for entry fees, it must be a genuine prize draw or competition.
Is a prize draw gambling in the UK?
Not if it is free to enter, or offers a free entry route that meets the Gambling Act 2005. In that case it is not a lottery, so it is not gambling under the Act. If the free route is hidden, harder to use or treated differently from paid entries, the draw risks being an illegal lottery.
Is a sweepstake a lottery?
Yes. The Gambling Commission classes sweepstakes as lotteries. An office sweepstake on the Grand National can run without a licence as a work lottery, provided everyone works at the same premises and no profit is made: the money goes on prizes, reasonable expenses or a good cause.
Sources
- Gambling Act 2005, section 3 (meaning of gambling), accessed 24 September 2026
- Gambling Act 2005, section 14 (lottery), accessed 24 September 2026
- Gambling Act 2005, section 33 (provision of facilities for gambling), accessed 24 September 2026
- Gambling Act 2005, section 258 (promotion of lottery), accessed 24 September 2026
- Gambling Act 2005, section 339 (prize competitions), accessed 24 September 2026
- Gambling Act 2005, section 361 (extent), accessed 24 September 2026
- Gambling Act 2005, Schedule 2 (payment to enter and free entry), accessed 24 September 2026
- Gambling Act 2005, Schedule 11 (exempt lotteries), accessed 24 September 2026
- Gambling Commission: Types of lotteries and their regulations, accessed 24 September 2026
- Gambling Commission: Types of lottery you can run without a licence, accessed 24 September 2026
- Gambling Commission: Fundraising, raffles and lotteries, accessed 24 September 2026
- Gambling Commission: Fundraising and lotteries on social media, accessed 24 September 2026
- Gambling Commission: Free draws and prize competitions, accessed 24 September 2026
- Gambling Commission: Prize competitions and free draws, the requirements of the Gambling Act 2005 (PDF), accessed 24 September 2026
- Gambling Commission: How we regulate the National Lottery, accessed 24 September 2026
- CAP Code Section 8: Promotional marketing, accessed 24 September 2026
- DCMS: Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators, accessed 24 September 2026
Play responsibly
MrRaffle is for UK residents aged 18 and over. Only play with money you can afford to spend, set a budget before you start, and take a break if it stops being fun.
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