Responsible Gambling Policy
Section 3 of the Gambling Commission Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP)s outlines the requirements of a licence holder in terms of Protection of Children and other Vulnerable Persons.
Licensees must have and put into effect policies and procedures intended to promote socially responsible gambling including the specific policies and procedures required by the provisions of section 3 of this code.
Licensees must make an annual financial contribution to one or more organisation(s) which are approved by the Gambling Commission, and which between them deliver or support research into the prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms, harm prevention approaches and treatment for those harmed by gambling.
Social responsibility code provision 3.4.2 states that Licensees who are non-commercial societies must:
- set an upper limit on the value of lottery tickets which may be sold to a person, whether as part of a single transaction or over a period of time, without customer interaction;
- maintain records of all instances of customer interaction pursuant to (a) above and, in each case, whether purchase of tickets beyond the limits set was then permitted; and
- ensure such records are made available to the Commission for inspection on request and retained for at least three years from the date of any lottery to which they relate.
Introduction
The Gambling Commission regulates gambling in the public interest. The regulatory framework introduced by the Gambling Act 2005 is based on the following licensing objectives:
- Preventing gambling from being a source of crime and disorder, being associated with crime and disorder, or being used to support crime;
- Ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way;
- Protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling; and
- Promoting social responsibility in gambling.
The EIC is committed to complying with the requirements of the Gambling Act 2005 (the Act). The powerLottery is a lottery which benefits the electrical and energy industry while giving players the chance to win. The EIC is committed to ensuring that the powerLottery is run in compliance with its obligations, and that any gambling is responsible. This policy sets out how the EIC works to support responsible gambling. The powerLottery is operated by our Gambling Commission licensed External Lottery Manager Sterling Management Centre Limited, who are primarily responsible for ensuring compliance.
Linked Policies & Procedures
The EIC has implemented relevant policies and procedures, including this policy, self-exclusion, and complaints procedure.
Policy
The EIC and its staff are committed to the protection of children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling. Our society and employees will take reasonable steps to identify customers who may be experiencing difficulties with gambling behaviour and signpost them to appropriate guidance and support.
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 emailing us at fundraising@electricalcharity.org with your name, address and membership number(s). 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.
- If you need to talk to someone about problem gambling then contact Gamble Aware.
- Gamble Aware is a registered charity that provides confidential telephone support and counselling to anyone who is affected by problem gambling. Gamble Aware can be contacted on 0808 8020 133 (Freephone).
Procedures
Provide information on what your society/ charity will do in this instance. It’s good practice to break the procedures down under the following sub-headings and include how your society will address each of the licensing objectives:
Preventing gambling from being a source of crime and disorder, being associated with crime and disorder, or being used to support crime
- We will maintain our Gambling Commission licenses in accordance with the Licensing Code of Conduct and Practices and submit the required reports to the Gambling Commission.
- The lottery operator Sterling operates compliance a programme in respect of suspicious transactions and the process of reporting them in line with the Proceeds of Crime Act.
- The lottery operator Sterling operates automatic age verification checks on lottery players who enter by remote means.
- Sterling ensures a single player will be limited to a maximum of £40 worth of entries in our lottery per week.
- Sterling ensures each player in our lottery will be limited to a single membership.
- The EIC and Sterling will not take lottery entry payments in cash.
Ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way
- Upon request from any player, we will provide a full history of their lottery membership. including complete payment and winnings history.
- Players have access to clear information on matters such as the rules of the game, the prizes that are available, the chances of winning, and the way in which prizes are allocated.
- The rules are fair.
- Any advertising and promotional material is clear and not misleading.
Protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling; and promoting social responsibility in gambling.
- When a new player signs up to our lottery they will be required to declare that they are over the age of 16 and may be required to confirm their date of birth. Anyone under the age of 16 will not be permitted to purchase a ticket to enter the lottery. If, upon winning, any individual is found to be under the age of 16 then all winnings will be forfeited.
- Our lottery websites and media relating to the promotion of our lottery will provide information on gambling support organisations and alert players to Be Gamble Aware. We will further support this through an annual financial contribution to Gambling Commission approved organisations dealing with research, prevention & treatment of problem gambling.
- On request, we will close any player’s lottery membership for a minimum period of 6 months during which time the membership cannot be reinstated.
- Our society will provide appropriate awareness training to our employees on problem gambling.
To help customers to keep control of their gambling and recognise when it has become a problem we will provide information on our lottery communications to highlight that they should:
- see gambling as entertaining and not 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
- read the game rules
- know that professional help is available.
If a customer contacts us to advise they are concerned that gambling may have become a problem for them or someone they care about then the following prompts will be used by staff to help them identify problem gambling:
- 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 Gamble Aware confidential helpline on 0808 8020 133 or visit their website www.begambleaware.org for further information.
Where a customer answers 'yes' to one or more of these questions they may have a gambling problem and will be advised that if they wish to speak to someone about it they should contact the National Gambling confidential helpline on 0808 8020 133 or visit the website https://www.begambleaware.org/ for further information.
Self-Exclusion
Please see our Self-Exclusion Policy: Terms & Conditions | powerLottery | Electrical Industries Charity
- We will make information about how to self- exclude available on our lottery website, as well as providing the appropriate telephone number for the player to self- exclude telephonically.
- Our ELM, Sterling Management Centre Limited utilises technology which identifies self- excluded players and prevents them from re- entering the lottery.
- A self- excluded individual will be flagged or removed from our marketing databases within two days of receiving a completed self- exclusion notification.
- During self- exclusion, a players account will be closed and any funds held on their behalf will be returned to them.
- Where self- exclusion has expired, we will not market our lottery to that player unless they have made a positive decision to return to the lottery of their own accord.
The Charity complies with the Licence Conditions and Code of Practice governing the procedures for self-exclusion. We will take all reasonable steps to prevent an individual who has entered a self-exclusion agreement with ourselves from participating in our lottery.
Should a member of our staff receive correspondence from an individual who wishes to be self-excluded they will send out a Lottery Exclusion form to be completed and returned. Upon the return of the form the individual’s details will be entered onto the self exclusion register. This will then be cross referenced against the existing membership and any new members signed up for the lottery for the period of the exclusion.
We will not target the individual with marketing material at any time during the self-exclusion. We will take steps to remove the name and details of a self-excluded individual from any marketing databases used by ourselves.
We will close any membership of an individual who has entered a self-exclusion agreement and return any funds held in their name.
We have put into effect the following procedures to ensure that an individual who has self-excluded cannot gain access to the lottery:
- A register of those excluded with appropriate records (name, address, lottery number, and any other appropriate comments).
- Staff training to ensure that staff are able to recognise and enforce the system.
- An individual must take positive action in order to self-exclude by way of a signature.
- The self-exclusion period is a minimum of six months (giving members the option of extending this if they so wish)
- The self-excluded member must take positive action to be removed from the self-exclusion and be able to enter the lottery at a future date.
- Upon notification the player will be given a one day cooling off period before being allowed access to the lottery.
- The record of the self-exclusion will remain on file until the agreement has been formally ended.