How do I submit a lottery return?

What is a lottery return?

In order to confirm that your lottery is sticking to financial limits and the funds raised are being used appropriately, you are required to report on your lottery. This report is in the form of a lottery return.

A return needs to be submitted within three months of the conclusion of each draw. So we suggest submitting returns once a quarter, to cover all draws that have taken place since your last return.

 

Where do I need to send a lottery return?

Your lottery return will either be sent to the Gambling Commission or your local authority.

Your return needs to be sent to the Gambling Commission if you have a full lottery licence. This applies to lotteries with total proceeds of greater than £250,000 each year.

Your return needs to be sent to your local authority if you have a small lottery licence. This applies to lotteries with total proceeds of less than £250,000 each year.

Most of our partner charities operate on a small lottery licence, so will need to send returns to their local authority. If you are unsure, then check to see who issues your lottery licence or contact us and we can advise.

 

How do I submit a lottery return?

To submit a lottery return, follow these steps:

1. Visit the GiveCircle Dashboard and login (if you don't yet have an account, then contact us for assistance)
2. Navigate to 'Licence' and then select 'Download Returns Data', this will download a CSV file
3. When you open the CSV file, you will see the following data:
   • Tickets on sale from - date on which tickets went on sale (this will be the Saturday before the lottery draw date).
   • Tickets on sale until - date on which tickets remained on sale until (this will be the Friday before the lottery draw date).
   • Lottery date - date on which the lottery draw took place (this will be a Saturday).
   • Proceeds from ELM campaigns - this is the total revenue from ticket sales from supporters who joined via a GiveCircle managed page.
   • Proceeds from charity campaigns - this is the total revenue from ticket sales from supporters who joined via a charity managed page.
   • Total proceeds - this is the total revenue from ticket sales across all pages. Please note that at least 20% of the total proceeds must be spent towards your charitable purposes.
   • Prize pool allocation - this is the total amount allocated to prizes (12.5 pence per ticket)
   • Marketing fee - this is the total amount allocated to marketing, through repayment of the acquisition fee. Depending on the report template, this may be reported as part of your charity's income, which you have chosen to spend on marketing.
   • ELM fee (inc. VAT) - this is the total amount deducted for GiveCircle's management of the lottery.
   • Society benefits - this is the total amount received by the charity, which is allocated to good causes. Please note that at least 20% of the total proceeds must be spent towards your charitable purposes.
   • GBP100 winners - this is the number of £100 prize winners there were from your charity's supporters.
   • GBP1000 winners - this is the number of £1,000 prize winners there were from your charity's supporters.
   • GBP10000 winners - this is the number of £10,000 prize winners there were from your charity's supporters.
4. Find the reporting template for the Gambling Commission or your local authority. This may have been shared with you when you received your lottery licence.
5. Match up the data in the spreadsheet with your reporting template and submit following the instructions on the template.
6. Templates vary, so you may only need some of the information provided, or may need to do some calculations based on the figures provided. If you are having any trouble, then contact us and we can help you.

What if I don’t submit a lottery return?

It is vital that you submit a lottery return within three months of each lottery draw.

If you don’t, then your lottery licence may be removed or suspended. This would mean that you would no longer be able to run a lottery and may be in breach of our terms and conditions.

We will send two reminder emails for each quarter (January, April, July and October). One message will be sent two weeks before the quarter starts, then another when the quarter starts. These emails will be sent to all contacts added to the GiveCircle Dashboard.

These emails are sent as a courtesy and should not be relied upon. It is solely the responsibility of your charity to ensure that lottery returns are submitted, so you should ensure that you set up your own internal reminders as necessary.