Section 259: Facilitating a lottery

Gambling Act 2005 · 2005 c. 19View on legislation.gov.uk

Part 11: Lotteries

A person commits an offence if he facilitates a lottery unless—

the exception in subsection (3) applies, or
the lottery is an exempt lottery.

For the purposes of this section a person facilitates a lottery if (and only if) he—

prints lottery tickets for a specified lottery,
prints promotional material for a specified lottery, or
advertises a specified lottery.

This section does not apply to activity by a person if he acts in accordance with the terms and conditions of an operating licence.

It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to show that he reasonably believed—

that he was not committing the offence by reason of subsection (1)(b) or (3), or
that the arrangement to which the charge relates was not a lottery, or
that the arrangement to which the charge relates was a lottery forming part of the National Lottery.

In subsection (2)(b) "promotional material" means a document which—

advertises a specified lottery,
invites participation in a specified lottery,
contains information about how to participate in a specified lottery, or
lists winners in a specified lottery.

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Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.