Is an Office Sweepstake Legal in the UK?

Short answer: yes, a normal office sweepstake is legal in Great Britain, as long as you follow a few simple rules. Here they are in plain English.

Why a sweepstake counts as a lottery

Under the Gambling Act 2005, anything where people pay to enter, there's a prize, and the winner is decided purely by chance is a lottery. A sweepstake ticks all three. Lotteries normally need a licence, but the law has an exception for small ones at work, called a work lottery.

The rules for a work sweepstake

• Everyone works at the same site. One office, or one site with several buildings. A company with offices in different cities can't run one big sweepstake across them all.
• Nobody makes a profit. All the money goes back out as prizes, apart from reasonable costs like printing.
• Everyone pays the same. One price per ticket, no discounts.
• The draw is random. People can't choose their own team or horse.
• Keep it in the building. Only advertise it at work, and sell tickets in person there. Selling tickets online or by email isn't allowed.
• No rollovers. Each sweepstake pays out on its own.
• Not for charity. Raising money for a good cause uses different rules (usually an "incidental lottery", for example at a work event).

What about people working from home?

This is the tricky one. Because tickets have to be sold at the workplace, colleagues who never come in are harder to include. The simple fix is to collect their money in person next time they're in the office, before the draw.

What about Last Man Standing?

Last Man Standing is different, because players choose their teams. Choosing takes some football knowledge, so it isn't a lottery. But once there's money in a pot the rules get more complicated, so the simplest options are to play for free, or play for a prize someone donates, like a trophy or a takeaway. Never use a website that takes everyone's entry money and keeps a cut unless it shows a proper licence.

How myofficesweepstake.com stays on the right side of the rules

It's free to play, and we never take entry money or hold a prize pot. The site does the draw, the picks and the live table. If your group has a pot, the organiser looks after it, in person. We'd rather you argued about Brighton than about the law.

Quick answers

Is it legal to run a sweepstake at work in the UK?

Yes, in Great Britain a sweepstake among people who work at the same site is allowed as a work lottery, as long as nobody makes a profit, everyone pays the same and the draw is random.

Can I sell sweepstake tickets by email or online?

No. For a work lottery, tickets should be sold in person at the workplace. You can still use a website for the draw and the table.

Can colleagues in another office join our sweepstake?

Not under the work lottery rules. Everyone has to work at the same site, so each office should run its own.

Can the organiser keep some of the money?

Only reasonable costs, such as printing. All the rest has to go back out as prizes.