Love Your Hospital Lottery

Social Responsibility and Responsible Gambling Policy

1. Introduction

Love Your Hospital operates a Society Lottery for the general public in Chichester, Worthing, Shoreham and the surrounding areas, for the sole purpose of raising funds for Love Your Hospital.

The Society is committed to ensuring that the lottery is operated in a secure, fair and socially responsible way and to endorse responsible gambling amongst its members.

The Society is registered under the Gambling Act 2005 with Chichester District Council. The regulatory framework introduced by the Gambling Act 2005 is based on three 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.

2. Purpose and Scope

This document sets out the Societies policies and approach to ensuring we approach any gambling activities in a socially responsible way.

3. Duties and Responsibilities

1. Preventing gambling from being a source of crime and disorder

When an individual joins the lottery we will check that:

• The individual is aged 16 or over.
• The individual is resident Great Britain.
• We also retain the right to cancel any membership should we suspect criminal activity.
• We limit the maximum number of entries to £10 per person per week.

2. Ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way.

We will ensure that:

• Players have access to clear information on matters such as the rules of the lottery, the prizes that are available and the chances of winning.
• The rules are fair.
• Any advertising and promotional material is clear and not misleading.
• The results are made public.

3. Protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

We will use our best endeavours to address the following issues:

• Under age Gambling. It is illegal for individuals under the age of 16 to enter into a lottery. If for whatever reason, upon winning any individual is unable to prove that they are 16 or over then any winnings will be forfeited.
• Gambling Limits. The Society may impose limits on the value of entries into a lottery that can be purchased by an individual.
• Self Exclusion. On request, we will close any player’s lottery membership(s) for a minimum period of six months during which time the membership(s) cannot be reinstated. During this period we will also try to ensure that the individual does not try and open a new membership.
• Access to Player History. We will provide any player with a full history of their lottery membership, including complete payment and winnings history upon request.
• Provide Information on Gambling Support Organisations. We will provide contact details and links on our website to begambleaware.org.
• Self Help and Awareness Information. We will provide self help and awareness information on our website and links to begambleaware.org.

Gamble safely

Playing our lottery is a way to support a worthwhile local charity and gives our members the chance to win one of 3 cash prizes offered every week. In common with all society lotteries it represents a very small risk of encouraging people below 16 years of age to participate or to induce people to gamble to excess.

Whilst the majority of people do gamble within their means, for some gambling can become a problem. It may help you to keep control to remember the following:

• Gambling should be entertaining and not seen as a way of making money
• Avoid chasing losses
• Only gamble what you can afford to lose
• Keep track of the time and amount you spend gambling
• If you want to have a break from gambling you can use our self-exclusion option by requesting a self-exclusion form from us at [email protected] or by downloading a copy from our website www.loveyourhospital.org. We will then close your membership(s) for a minimum period of 6 months, during which time it will not be possible for the account(s) to be re-opened for any reason.
• Begambleaware.org website provides general information about gambling, including how to gamble safely and where to get help if you or someone you know has problems with their gambling. You can call the national gambling helpline free of charge on 0808 8020 133 (open 8am – midnight, 7 days a week).

Problem Gambling. If you are concerned that gambling may have taken over your (or someone else’s life) then the following questions may help you find out:

• Do you stay away from work, college or school to gamble?
• Do you gamble to escape from a boring or unhappy life?
• When gambling and you run out of money, do you feel lost and in despair and need to gamble again as soon as possible?
• Do you gamble until your last penny is gone, even the fare home or the cost of a cup of tea?
• Have you ever lied to cover up the amount of money or time you have spent gambling?
• Have others ever criticised your gambling?
• Have you lost interest in your family, friends or hobbies?
• After losing, do you feel you must try and win back your losses as soon as possible?
• Do arguments, frustrations or disappointments make you want to gamble?
• Do you feel depressed or even suicidal because of your gambling?

The more you answer yes to these questions, the more likely you are to have a serious gambling problem. To speak to someone about this contact the national gambling helpline on 0808 8020 133 or visit their website www.begambleaware.org for further information.

4. Monitoring Compliance and Effectiveness

Compliance and effectiveness will be monitored on an on-going basis by the Individual Giving Officer.
Non compliance will be dealt with by the Individual Giving Officer in the first instance and then escalated to the Head of Charity in the second and finally to the Chair of Charitable Funds Committee.