Individual licence for a public lottery or draw (including small lotteries and raffles)
Service description
If you wish to organise public lotteries and draws (including raffles), you must apply for them and have them approved.
What information must the application contain?
The application for authorisation of a lottery or draw must contain the following information:
- Name and address of the organiser,
- Name and address of the natural person responsible for implementation,
- Type of event,
- Playing time,
- Location or sales area,
- Purpose of the event,
- Number of lots to be sold and
- Ticket price of the single lot.
The type of event
- a lottery ticket lottery,
- a drawing lottery,
- a lottery ticket draw,
- a draw draw and
- a tombola (event in closed rooms with a prize money of up to 6,000.00 euros)
into consideration.
In a lottery, cash prizes are played out, while prizes in kind are played out in a draw. The ticket contains the immediate winning decision; in the case of the draw lottery or draw, the winners are determined by "drawing" the winning tickets.
The following documents must be enclosed with the application:
- the articles of association of the organiser,
- the most recent corporation tax assessment notice or notice of recognition of the organiser's non-profit status,
- if applicable, further evidence that the organiser guarantees that the lottery or draw will be conducted properly and that the proceeds will be used for the intended purpose,
- the game plan (see below for explanation),
- the profit plan (see below for explanation),
- a declaration by the organiser that
- the prizes listed in the prize schedule are available at the start of the lottery or draw or at the start of each series of the lottery or draw,
- the net proceeds of the lottery or draw are donated to the intended purpose immediately after the end of the event,
- in the event of a draw, all winnings have been entered into the prize plan at the usual value,
- In the case of local events, a certificate from the competent local authority stating that there are no objections to the event being held, or a site licence.
If a commercial lottery organiser or another person is involved in the technical implementation of a lottery or draw in return for payment, the contract concluded with these persons must be attached to the application.
You must submit the application with all documents to the licensing authority at least 3 weeks before the planned start of the event. If donated non-cash prizes are to be played in a raffle, you can submit the final prize schedule no later than one week before the event.
Prerequisites
Prerequisite for the authorisation of a lottery
A permit for a lottery or draw may only be issued if-
the event is not precluded by any of the following grounds for refusal:
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A licence may not be granted if it cannot be ruled out that the organisation of the lottery promotes the gambling instinct in a special way due to the overall gambling offer already available, in particular with regard to the number of games of chance already organised or their type or implementation.
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Authorisation may not be granted if
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the game plan provides that
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the draw results are announced more than twice a week,
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the maximum prize exceeds a value of 1,000,000.00 euros or
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parts of the fee to be paid by the player are accumulated for the purpose of creating prizes for future draws (scheduled jackpot).
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interactive participation in broadcasting and telemedia with prompt announcement of prizes.
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- the organiser is a non-profit organisation,
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the organiser is reliable, in particular guarantees that the event is conducted properly and in a manner that is comprehensible to the gaming participants and the licensing authority and that the net proceeds are used for the intended purpose,
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the event does not pursue any economic purposes that go beyond the advertising effect associated with the reference to the provision of prizes, and
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it is not to be expected that the event itself or the realisation of the purpose of the event or the use of the net proceeds will endanger public safety or order or impair the relations of the Federal Republic of Germany with other states.
A new lottery planned for a longer duration may also not be authorised if there is no sufficient public need for its organisation despite the existing range of authorised games of chance. The purpose of the event and the intended use of the proceeds are not taken into account when assessing whether there is sufficient public need.
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Which documents are required?
Game plan
The application for authorisation of a lottery must be accompanied by a game plan.The game plan must show the amount of playing capital, divided into the following percentages
- Prize amount (value of the winnings to be played),
- Lottery or sales tax,
- Costs of the lottery and
- Net income
result.
Care must be taken to ensure that the net proceeds, the prize money and the costs are in reasonable proportion to each other. The costs of the event must be kept as low as possible. A reasonable net profit that is as high as possible must be achieved. At least 30 per cent of the fees should be earmarked in the programme for the net income and the total winnings and there must be no reason to assume that these proportions will not be achieved. A calculation showing the expected costs of the event, the total profit, the taxes and the net income must be submitted with the application.
If the winnings are donated and therefore no expenses are required for the provision of the winnings, the net proceeds of the event should amount to at least 50 per cent of the capital played out.
In the case of small lotteries, i.e. lotteries where the sum of the fees to be paid does not exceed EUR 40,000.00 and the net proceeds are used exclusively and directly for charitable, ecclesiastical or benevolent purposes, the net proceeds and the total winnings only have to amount to at least 25 per cent of the fees.
The match schedule also regulates the match operations in general. It contains the conditions under which participation is possible. In particular, it specifies the financial contribution (the stake) of the individual player and regulates the procedure for determining winnings.
Prize schedule
The application for a lottery licence must be accompanied by a prize schedule.
The prize schedule contains the type, number and amount of all prizes. Prizes in kind are listed with their value.
When dividing into several series, an overall profit plan must be drawn up containing the above information, divided into the intended series. The prize share of each series must be the same. The main prizes must be distributed evenly among the individual series.
What fees are incurred?
A fee of 2.5 per thousand of the gaming capital, but at least 110.00 euros, is charged for the granting of a licence to hold a lottery or draw.
The granting of a licence for lotteries and draws that serve exclusively non-profit or charitable purposes and whose technical implementation is not transferred to a commercial enterprise is free of charge.
For tax regulations, see the service description "Registering a lottery or draw with the tax office".
Legal basis
What else should I know?
Important information
Anyone who organises public lotteries or games of chance without official permission, in particular offers to conclude gaming contracts for a public lottery or game of chance or accepts offers aimed at concluding such gaming contracts, is liable to a custodial sentence of up to 2 years or a monetary penalty.
Typing
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