Raffle social responsibility policy

The Sense Raffle is run for the sole purpose of raising funds for the charity Sense (registered charity number 289868). All proceeds from the Sense Raffle go towards Sense’s charitable aims.

Sense is committed to ensuring that the Sense Raffle is operated in a secure, fair and socially responsible way and to endorsing responsible gambling amongst its players.

The regulatory framework introduced by the Gambling Act 2005, is based on the following licensing objectives:

  1. Preventing gambling from being a source of crime and disorder, being associated with crime and disorder, or being used to support crime.
  2. Ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way.
  3. Protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

Sense have processes in place to ensure that the objectives outlined in the Gambling Act 2005 (listed above) and referred to in this policy stand up to scrutiny. The Gambling Commission regulates gambling in the public interest.

This document sets out Sense’s policies and approach to ensuring we approach any gambling activities in a socially responsible way.

  1. Preventing gambling from being a source of crime and disorder
    Raffle tickets are mailed to the following people who are held on our supporter database system and who fall into the following groups:
  • Adult supporters of Sense who have previously entered a Sense Raffle.
  • Individuals who have not taken part in a Sense Raffle but have supported us financially in other ways e.g. responded to an appeal mailing.
  • Adult members who responded to a membership email who opt into our raffle.
  • Adult supporters who contact us via the phone or website to ask to be part of the raffle.
  • Sense Raffles are open to residents of mainland Great Britain only (this excludes Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands). Agencies or other companies that have any connection with the production of the Raffle, as well as relatives of such persons, are unable to enter the Raffle. The named license holder is also ineligible to enter.
  • All recipients of the main raffle mailing are sent laser personalised quick-response labels with the name and full address of the recipient printed on each one. The quick-response labels are to be affixed to the ticket stubs that are returned to Sense, via our raffle fulfilment agency Telebank. Both tickets and stubs are numbered with individual sequenced ticket numbers. Supporters retain the numbered ticket for their reference.
  • The numbers of all tickets sent to a recipient are held against their record in the data file supplied to Telebank, Sense’s raffle fulfilment agency.
  • The maximum value of the tickets posted to one individual is 36 with a total value of £36.
  • Recipients can request additional tickets by contacting our Supporter Services team.
  • Recipients have the option to sell tickets to others. There is space on the ticket stubs where the buyer’s details can be written. These details will be used only to let such an entrant know if they win a raffle prize. If no name and address is given, we can use the information we have already have stored about the original recipient to inform them of the win. The ticket numbers will remain allocated to the supporter who we have recorded as the original recipient – in case we need to refer to them.
  • Tickets will also be sold in Sense shops to adults over the age of 18. There is space on the ticket stubs where the buyer’s details can be written. These details will be used to let buyers know if they win a raffle prize but also to let them know more about our work and other ways they can help Sense, including how they can volunteer, make a donation, or support our campaigns
  • Sense may rent cold lists for the purposes of promoting our raffle. We stipulate that the audience must be over the age of 18. Before we purchase contact information, we always check the wording used when the information was originally collected, to make sure that we only contact people who have an interest in receiving information from third parties. No data is stored on our systems unless the individual makes a donation or tells us that they would not want to be contacted by Sense again in the future. When providing permission for third party organisations to share your data you should check their Privacy Policies carefully to understand fully how they will process your data
  • Sense is a company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales No. 1825301
  • Sense is a registered charity in England and Wales. Registered charity number 289868.
  1. Ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way
  • Sense oversees the draw process which is undertaken by Telebank at their premises. Telebank is a fulfilment business that is paid by Sense to open and process donations and ticket sales on our behalf. On the prize draw date representatives from Telebank draws the raffle winners by hand.
  • All ticket stubs are included in the draw.
  • When the tickets are drawn, 12 extra tickets are also drawn in case we cannot contact the winners.
  • The following processes are in place to ensure the raffle is operated fairly:
  • All ticket sales are processed by Telebank and all ticket stubs are sent to them for the draw directly by supporters via a BRE, or if they are directed to Sense, our Supporter Services team will send them to Telebank securely.
  • Telebank makes the draw on behalf of Sense
  • It is possible to check winning ticket numbers against the ticket numbers allocated originally to the winning supporters to detect any discrepancies.
  • Sense staff, our agencies and other companies involved in the raffle are not permitted to enter the Sense Raffle. 
  • We contact winners by phone where possible, and by post to inform them of their win. They are asked to call us to confirm their name for the prize cheque.
  • The winners have their prize amount and correspondence added to their supporter records on the Raiser’s Edge database, giving a further chance to detect any discrepancies.
  • All paper tickets are retained in archive storage. This means if necessary a winning ticket or tickets can be recovered and verified. This includes the very small number of tickets that have a Third Party name on the reverse.
  • Winning ticket stubs are sent to Sense as proof of the draw. Ticket stubs are scanned in and kept in our files at Sense as a record. A spreadsheet of winners is also supplied along with the stubs.
  • Winners’ details are recorded on our supporter database.
  • Any money received from late entries will be treated as a donation.
  • The list of winning ticket numbers for each draw is available on request and are published on our website sense.org.uk/raffle within seven days after the draw takes place.
  • A complaints procedure is in place to deal with any issues in a clear and procedural way. See: sense.org.uk/contact/fundraising-complaints/
  • We also comply with the Code of Fundraising Practice set out by the new Fundraising Regulator.
  • The charity Sense is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
  1. To protect children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited, Sense adheres to advertisement rules laid out by the Committee of Advertising Practice which can be summarised as:
  • Not encourage gambling that may lead to socially irresponsible acts or could lead to financial, social or emotional harm.
  • Not exploit children or other vulnerable persons.
  • Not suggest gambling can solve financial problems or debts.
  • Not suggest gambling can increase attractiveness or sexual success.
  • Not link gambling to youth culture or attempt to attract young persons to gamble.
  • We do not mail anyone on our Raiser’s Edge database with tickets who we know to be under the age of 18. For cold lists rented for the purposes of promoting our raffle we stipulate that they must be over the age of 18.
  • We will use our best endeavours to address the following issues:
  • Under age Gambling. It is illegal for individuals under the age of 18 to enter into a lottery. The wording “Tickets are not to be sold to or by any person under the age of 18” is printed on the reverse of every ticket.
  • Gambling Limits. The maximum number of tickets mailing to an individual in one draw is 36 to a total value of £36. There is a maximum of one hundred tickets (£100) purchased per draw.
  • Self Exclusion: On request we will put a block on a supporters’ record to exclude them from entering our raffles and receiving our raffle mailings. This block will remain unless we are asked by the individual to remove it.
  • Provide Information on organisations that provide support for problem gambling. The Gamble Aware address and helpline is printed on the reverse of the part of the tickets retained by the purchaser. We also give an annual donation to the charity Gamble Aware – to support research, education and treatment of problem gambling.
  • All staff involved in the Sense raffle are made aware of our social responsibility policy and our terms and conditions.