The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has published its response to the consultation on society lottery reform which ran from June to September last year.
The response announced the following changes to big society lotteries:
- The annual sales limit to be raised from £10m to £50m
- The maximum prize draw per individual to be raised from £400,000 to £500,000
- The individual per-draw sales limit to be raised from £4m to £5m
The response did not give an intended date for introducing these changes and did not introduce any changes for small society lotteries.
The consultation considered raising the annual sales limit to £100m but the government concluded that this was too big a step for the current regulatory framework. Instead, the response proposed a future consultation on an increase to £100m including changes to regulatory requirements which would allow lotteries to apply for a £50m or £100m licence.
A future consultation by the Gambling Commission may also cover licensing, the use of lottery proceeds and which good causes benefit from society lotteries. The government also plans to consult on raising the minimum age for participating in certain lotteries from 16 to 18 years to establish a clear position on the minimum age ahead of the bidding process for the fourth National Lottery licence which will launch next year.
