Social Responsibility
1. Introduction
York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity ("the Charity") is committed to raising
funds responsibly and to promoting responsible gambling. One significant element of our fundraising portfolio is our society lottery, operated under the Gambling Act 2005 ("the Act").
The lottery is promoted by York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals Charity for the sole purpose of raising funds for Registered Charity No.1054527.
Registered Office: York & Scarborough Teaching Hospital NHS FT, Finance Department, Tribune House, Centurion Park, Tribune Way, Clifton, York, YO30 4RY
The Charity currently operates under a local authority licence number 011882 issued by City of York Council. We will always adhere to the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice ("LCCP").
This policy sets out how the Charity, together with its appointed External Lottery Manager (ELM), The Fundraising Foundry Ltd, fulfi ls the Act’s three licensing objectives:
- keeping crime and disorder out of gambling;
- ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way; and
- protecting children and other vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling.
2. Purpose & Scope
This policy applies to all lottery activity undertaken in the Charity’s name – whether remote (online, telephone, electronic) or non-remote (face-to-face, postal). It ensures that our lottery is operated:
- securely and fairly;
- in full compliance with the Act, the LCCP and all relevant regulations; and
- in a socially responsible manner that promotes safe play and mitigates potential harms.
The policy is reviewed annually – and sooner where required by regulatory change – and approved by the Charity’s Trustees.
3. Definitions
Lottery – Payment is required to participate, one or more prizes are awarded, those prizes are awarded by chance. For this Charity it is a weekly draw, with each chance costing £1.
Proceeds – Total income from ticket sales before deductions.
Profits – Proceeds minus prizes and reasonable expenses.
External Lottery Manager (ELM) – A Gambling Commission-licensed third party appointed to run lotteries on behalf of societies. The Charity’s ELM is The Fundraising Foundry Ltd (GC account no. 57455), a company registered in England and Wales with company number 12391987 and whose registered address is 157 Bedford Road, Letchworth Garden City, UK, SG6 4DY.
Responsible Persons – Named post-holders endorsed by the Gambling Commission as accountable for the lottery. These must be employees of the Charity and not an external lottery manager, approved by the Gambling Commission and listed on Schedule X of the lottery operating licence.
4. Licences
York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity currently holds a local authority licence (011882) and needs to apply for licences from the Gambling Commission, which are granted for society lottery gaming activity. Society lotteries can only be run for good causes and cannot be run for private or commercial gain.
5. Lottery Terms & Conditions and Rules
The Charity operates its society lottery in accordance with a comprehensive set of Lottery Terms & Conditions and Lottery Rules. These documents are designed to ensure fairness, transparency, and compliance with the Gambling Act 2005 and the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP).
The current versions of the Lottery Terms & Conditions and Lottery Rules are made readily available to all players:
- On the Charity's lottery website:https://www.yshospitalscharity.org/lottery
- Upon request by contacting the Charity via email at hello@yshospitalscharity.org or by phone at 01904 724521.
The Charity ensures that all players are made aware of and agree to these Terms & Conditions and Rules prior to participation. These documents are to periodic review and updates to ensure ongoing compliance and best practice, with any material changes communicated to players as required by regulation.
6. External Lottery Manager Procedures
York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity conducts its lottery by means of
contracting with a Gambling Commission licensed External Lottery Manager (ELM), The Fundraising Foundry Ltd.
The ELM maintains a record of all tickets (entries) sold for the weekly lottery, including contact details and any other information connected with monies sent in for tickets/entries received. These records are kept for a minimum of five years to comply with the Gambling Commission’s GDPR requirements.
Draws are conducted fairly and openly using a Random Number Generator (RNG) to determine the winner(s). The draw takes place every Saturday and results are published every Saturday at 17:45 GMT on the website:
https://www.yshospitalscharity.org/lottery. There will be fi ve draws every month. In months with only four Fridays: tickets are issued on the following Tuesday, and the draw is held on Wednesday. Results of the additional draw will be published on those Wednesdays at 17:45 GMT on the website.
All data handled by the ELM is stored using AWS servers, and The Fundraising Foundry Ltd is certified to ISO 27001 standards.
All funds for lottery entries are collected by direct debit mandate. The collections are made by an approved BACS bureau, which is a Data Security Standard (“PCI-DSS”) Tier-1 Accredited Payment Service Provider and is certified to ISO 27001 standards. The ELM invoices York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity for its services, ensuring that charity funds are never at risk.
7. Conducting Gambling in a Fair & Open Way
York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity is committed to conducting its lottery in a fair and open manner.
The Charity will ensure that all lottery participants have clear information on the rules and prizes that are available. All participants will have access to the terms and conditions (including information on prizes) of the lottery prior to purchasing a chance to win.
Terms and conditions are published on the Charity's website. Participants will be notified of any changes to the terms before they come into effect via an administrative email or mail.
Entry is open to all residents of Great Britain. This excludes Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Entry costs £1 per play, payable in advance.
The Charity may set a maximum number of tickets any one person can purchase for a draw.
Currently, any one person is allowed to purchase a maximum of ten tickets for this draw, promoting socially responsible participation.
York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity employees or third parties directly
involved in the administration or management of the Weekly Lottery are excluded from participation.
Volunteers of the Charity or any other third party may only participate in the lottery if they are not involved in the organisation, management, or running of the activity.
All Weekly Lottery and Superdraw winners are notified within 14 days in writing, and in the case of the top prize winner of any special draws, by phone, if a telephone number is available.
8. Preventing Crime & Disorder in Gambling
York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity is committed to preventing gambling from being a source of or associated with crime or disorder or being used to support crime.
The Charity will refuse to contract with any contractors or agents who are suspected of being associated with any potential or actual criminal activities.
When an individual joins the lottery, checks are performed to ensure that:
- The individual is aged 18 or over.
- The individual is resident in Great Britain
All lottery-related software is password protected and accessible only by authorised
members of staff. The Charity retains the right to cancel any lottery membership should
criminal activity be suspected.
The Charity does not accept cash from members of the public who wish to join the lottery.
Lottery participants are not able to pay for lottery tickets (entries) via credit card. York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity promotes the sale of both non-remote and remote lottery tickets (entries) by Direct Debit, payable on a per calendar month basis.
York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity's subscription-based weekly lottery promotion materials are designed to allow for a maximum of ten weekly entries per person at £1 per entry, thus minimising the risk of criminal activity. Face-to-face fundraisers selling non-remote subscription-based weekly lottery tickets are not permitted to take cash or cheque in lieu of payment, further minimising risk.
York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity will not accept suspicious or fraudulent transactions and will report such transactions to the National Crime Agency under The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002).
When considering its approach to money laundering, the Charity will work within the regulatory and statutory guidance, including:
- The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002).
- The Terrorism Act 2000 (TA 2000).
- The Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (MLR 2007).
- The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Regulations
2017 (MLR 2017) regulation 18.
9. Protecting Underage Individuals & Vulnerable People
York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity will not permit sales of tickets to any person in a vulnerable circumstance or any person under the age of 18 to participate in the lottery or any other form of gambling.
9.1 Protecting Underage Individuals
It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to enter a lottery in the UK. The Charity requires
that all lottery participants are 18 years of age or over. If, for whatever reason, upon winning, any individual is unable to prove that they are 18 or over, then any winnings will be forfeited.
Entrants to the Lottery must be resident in Great Britain. It is not open to residents of
Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. Entrants are required to provide to
the Society their name, date of birth, address and email address. To enter the Lottery you
must be aged 18 (eighteen) or over. Any entrant found to be under 18 years of age at the
time of entry automatically forfeits the right to any Prize and will have their stake refunded.
Checks are carried out to verify the age of participants and may include references to credit
agencies.
The eligibility of any entrant is at the sole discretion of the Society, which reserves the right
to disqualify or decline to accept the entry of any entrant if it has reasonable grounds to
believe the entrant has breached any of these Rules or otherwise acted fraudulently.
Ineligible entrants will not be entitled to receive a Prize, and any Prize awarded to an
ineligible entrant may be revoked (if not received) or must be returned (if already received).
For anyone who appears to be under the age of 18, they will be asked to produce proof of
identity and age before they sign up to the lottery via a face-to-face fundraiser. The Charity
best endeavours to address the issue by having a minimum age of 18 for anyone who signs
up via the website. If someone attempts to sign up with a date of birth under 18. The Charity may carry out randomised spot checks by contacting lottery members and asking them to confirm their date of birth.
York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity does not offer prizes where alcohol is included.
9.2 Protecting Vulnerable People
In line with York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity’s policy on Fundraising with
People in Vulnerable Circumstances, the Charity will politely refuse to accept any further
participation from people who have been discovered or suspected of being vulnerable,
typically by recommending that the customer speaks with a carer or family member before
proceeding further with the gambling transaction.
All face-to-face fundraisers are trained to detect vulnerability in potential supporters and to
politely decline offers of support from these individuals.
The Charity will provide any player with a full history of their lottery membership, including
complete payment and winnings history upon request. The Charity provides information on
gambling support organisations, self-help, and awareness groups, with all information
available via the website, upon request, or on relevant communications.
If someone self-excludes, their lottery membership(s) will be closed for a minimum period of six months, during which time the membership(s) cannot be reinstated. See Section 11 for further details on self-exclusion.
10. Responsible & Problem Gambling Procedure
York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity is committed to ensuring that information about how to gamble responsibly and how to access information or help with problem gambling is readily available to all. The Charity also contributes to public education on the risks of gambling and how to gamble safely.
10.1 Keeping Gambling Under Control
Most people gamble responsibly, and gambling in moderation is acceptable. To help keep
gambling under control, York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity recommends:
- Remembering that taking part is for fun and not as a means of investing money.
- Setting strict limits on how much time and money to spend before playing.
- Quitting whilst ahead.
- Only gambling with money that can be afforded to be lost.
- Not spending more money on gambling in the hope that it will be won back again.
- Keeping up other interests and hobbies and not letting gambling take over one’s life.
- Not gambling to escape from stress or boredom.
10.2 Signs of Problem Gambling
For some people, gambling can become a problem. If some of the following signs are
present, it is likely a gambling problem exists. Answering yes to some of these questions
does not necessarily make you a problem gambler but may indicate a problem:
- Do you sometimes spend more money and time on gambling than you can afford to?
- Do you find it hard to stop or manage your gambling?
- Do you have arguments with family or friends about money and gambling?
- Do you always think or talk about gambling?
- Do you lie about gambling or hide it from other people?
- Do you chase losses or gamble to get out of financial trouble?
- Do you gamble until all of your money is gone?
- Do you borrow money, sell possessions or do not pay bills in order to pay for
gambling? - Do you need to gamble with larger amounts of money or for a longer time to get
the same feeling of excitement or buzz? - Do you neglect work, school, family, personal needs or household responsibilities
because of gambling? - Do you feel anxious, worried, guilty, depressed or irritable because of gambling?
- Do you consider or have considered an illegal act to finance your gambling?
- Do you gamble to escape worry, trouble, boredom or loneliness?
- Do you have difficulty sleeping because of gambling?
10.3 Information & Help
The Charity is committed to directing players to appropriate support services if they are
experiencing gambling-related harm. Information regarding responsible gambling and help
for problem gambling will be readily accessible. Training is provided so that staff understand their responsibilities and are aware of advice on socially responsible gambling and of where to get confidential advice should their gambling become hard to control.
Information is available:
- On the Charity's lottery website: https://www.yshospitalscharity.org/lottery
- Via direct contact with the Charity - Email: hello@yshospitalscharity.org or Phone: 01904 724521
- Through prominent display of contact details for independent support
organisations such as:- National Gambling Helpline: 0808 8020 133 (provided by GamCare)
- GamCare: www.gamcare.org.uk
- BeGambleAware: www.begambleaware.org
York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity will endeavour to ensure that it identifi es and reacts to any suspected problem gamblers. Upon receipt of an application to participate in its lottery from a suspected problem gambler:
- Any requests for any tickets (entries) more than the recommended maximums will
be refused. - The customer will be referred to GamCare.
- The customer’s details will be logged in the Charity’s database for the purposes of possible exclusion from future participation in future lotteries.
- Future written and verbal communications will be monitored by the Responsible Person for lotteries.
- If an existing customer is suspected of becoming a problem gambler:
- Any request for any additional entries will be refused.
- The customer will be referred to GamCare.
- The customer’s details will be suppressed and will be excluded from future lottery participation and mailings.
- Future written and verbal communications will be monitored by the Responsible Person for lotteries.
- Any money allocated to future draws will be refunded.
York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity will initiate customer verifi cation checks to ensure that the customer is aware of the level of gambling currently being undertaken, when approached by customers who:
- Wish to purchase more than the number of tickets that can be purchased at one time (currently ten).
- Are suspected problem gamblers.
11. Self-Exclusion
York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity has a self-exclusion process in place
for potential and existing lottery participants.
Lottery participants or carers of a vulnerable person can request self-exclusion from our
database for further lottery mailings. The exclusion will be valid for a minimum of 6 months
and cannot be reinstated during this time. A request can be made via email using the
dedicated address: selfexclusionYSH@thefundraisingfoundry.com, or the participant or carer can contact the Charity by phone or post.
All communication between staff and self-excluders/suspected problem gamblers will be
recorded in writing, monitored, and approved by the Responsible Person for lotteries.
If an existing lottery participant self-excludes from gambling, York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity will ensure:
- The individual who has asked to be self-excluded will be removed from any
gambling-related marketing databases within two working days of receiving the
completed self-exclusion notifi cation and will be excluded for a minimum of 6
months. - Self-excluders will not then receive any future gambling-related marketing
materials unless the self-excluder takes positive action to gamble again and has
specifi cally agreed to such materials. - The individual may wish to consider self-exclusion beyond York and Scarborough
Hospitals Charity’s lottery and will be provided with GamCare’s contact details.
Additionally:
- The Charity will take all reasonable steps to refuse service or to otherwise prevent
an individual who has entered a self-exclusion agreement from participating in
gambling. A customer who has made contact to request self-exclusion will be
refused service and prevented from gambling with any lottery administered by the
Charity, for a minimum of six months. - A request for self-exclusion will be available with immediate effect and with no “cooling off” period.
- During this period, the Charity will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the
individual does not try to play any lotteries administered by the Charity and prevent
any marketing material being sent to them. - An individual when requesting self-exclusion will be informed of the self-exclusion
process and implications and will be provided information on gambling support
agencies. The main agencies are: www.gamcare.org.uk - telephone 0808 8020 133
or www.begambleaware.org. - The individual’s lottery account will be closed. Any balances outstanding on that
account will be refunded. Where an individual has paid by cheque, the amount from
the last draw they were entered into, to the end date of their subscription will be
refunded by cheque within 10 working days. Where an individual pays by Direct
Debit/Standing Order, they will have to contact their bank directly to cancel the
Direct Debit/Standing Order and the Charity will refund them each month until such
time as the instruction has been cancelled. Where the individual pays by Direct
Debit, the Charity will cancel the Direct Debit and refund any unused credit on the
ticket(s). - During the period of self-exclusion, they will not be entered into any charity lottery
draw promoted by the Charity, even if the individual has failed to cancel their
instruction. - After the self-exclusion period ends, if the individual wishes to recommence
participating in any of the lotteries promoted by the Charity, they must request in
writing that they wish to be removed from the self-exclusion register. Once this letter
is received, the individual will be given one day to ‘cool off’ before being given the
opportunity to recommence participation in the lottery.
12. Marketing
Any promotional materials for the lottery are clear and not misleading, and all advertising for the lottery complies with the advertising code of practice applicable to the form and media the advert is in. The principles in these codes will also be applied to all forms and media not explicitly covered by the advertising codes as if they were.
13. Financial & Information Requirements
13.1 Financial Requirements
All money received by Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals Charity will be handled
in accordance with the Charity’s finance and cash handling policies.
13.2 Protection of Customer Funds
York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity holds all customer funds in a separate
client account. All remote operators licensed by the Gambling Commission have an
obligation to hold separate accounts for proceeds. This is to protect the player in the event of insolvency.
13.3 Information Requirements
York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity will make all reasonable efforts to ensure that the Gambling Commission are provided with any information that they know relates to or suspect may relate to an offence under the Gambling Act 2005, including an offence resulting from a breach of a licence condition or a Code provision having the effect of a licence condition. The Charity will make all reasonable efforts to ensure that all key events that could have a significant impact upon the nature or structure of a licensee’s business are notified to the Commission as soon as is reasonably practicable and in any event within five working days of the licensee becoming aware of the event’s occurrence. Key events are those concerning operator status, relevant persons and positions, financial events, legal or regulatory proceedings or reports, and gambling facilities. Weekly Lottery Submissions will be completed by York and Scarborough Hospitals Charity and will be submitted to the Gambling Commission within 3 months of the date of each lottery draw. The Charity will also submit quarterly Lottery Regulatory Returns to the Gambling Commission.
14. Complaints & Disputes
The Gambling Commission defines a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction, whether spoken or written, about any aspect of the way the licensee conducts their licensed activities. For example, a complaint may be:
- About the outcome of a gambling transaction.
- About the way a gambling transaction has been managed.
- That concerns the way the licence holder carries out its business in relation to the three licensing objectives.
Any complaints that fall within this definition will be managed in line with the following
procedure.