Gambling Commission tightens grip on house competitions

Today Win a House reported that after writing to the British couple organising the Oldborough Retreat competition warning them that it may not be legal, today the UK's Gambling Commission published a paper on their website - warning other competition organisers that theirs may also be considered an illegal lottery.

Given the success of the Oldborough Retreat competition, where Brian and Wendy Wilshaw sold 46,000 tickets two months earlier than expected - raising £1.15 million in the process; a raft of similar competitions were launched across the UK and Ireland. According to this paper, the Commission has contacted a number of organisers to request that they provide information to demonstrate their competition can be considered a prize competition, rather than an illegal lottery.

This suggests that the Commission is placing the onus on the organisers to demonstrate their house competition complies with the UK Gambling Act 2005, rather than informing them specfically why they believe it is an illegal form of lottery. As with any nascent sector, there are few direct reference points to help guide organisers at this stage, therefore it is probable that a number may decide to postpone or cancel their competition rather than risk prosecution from the Commission.

It will be interesting to see whether certain competition structures will be given the green light as a result of this process. However, in the meantime it is likely to mean a slowing down in activity in this space, until these important issues have been resolved and the Oldborough Retreat competition concluded one way or another.