North Devon Hospice Lottery Responsible Gambling Policy

Introduction

North Devon Hospice Lottery is committed to ensuring that the lottery is operated in a secure, fair and socially responsible way and to endorsing responsible gambling amongst its members.

The Gambling Commission regulates gambling in the public interest.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

When an individual joins the lottery we will check that:

• The individual is aged 18 or over
• The individual is resident in the UK
• The charity retains the right to cancel any membership should they suspect criminal activity
• The charity may limit the maximum value of entries to £20 per person per week
• The charity will ensure their staff are trained to detect and also how to report potential money laundering threats. They are all issued with Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 leaflet and examples of money laundering.

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

North Devon Hospice Lottery 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 are equal to all participants.
• 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 North Devon Hospice Lottery will use its best endeavours to address the following issues:

• Age Verification PolicyIt is an offence for persons under the age of 16 to play the lottery, however as part of our commitment to responsible gambling, we have set the minimum age limit for our lottery to 18. North Devon Hospice Lottery will ensure our staff are trained to be aware of their responsibilities for preventing underage gambling and for returning stakes and not paying prizes to underage customers. Where lottery tickets are sold face to face, if it appears that the potential customer might be underage, our staff North Devon Hospice Responsible Gambling Policy and Responsible Gambling Guide ask for proof of identity, establishing that the person is aged 18 and over before selling the lottery ticket to them.
• Examples of acceptable identification for age verification purposes include:
  • Passport
  • Driving Licence
  • Official Student Card

• Protecting vulnerable personsNorth Devon Hospice Lottery will ensure its staff are trained to detect vulnerability in potential customers and politely decline offers of support from such individuals. People particularly at risk include the elderly, mentally disabled and those under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

• Gambling LimitsNorth Devon Hospice Lottery may impose limits on the value of entries into a lottery that can be purchased by an individual to £20 per week. If our staff have a concern that a customer’s behaviour (signified for example by a sharp increase in their expenditure on lottery tickets or chances) may indicate problem gambling, they will be trained to report the matter to the responsible person or other suitably appointed person for the lottery The customer will be called to discuss the matter, including the help that is available for problem gamblers. In severe cases, consideration may be given to barring the customer from participating in the lottery.

• Self-Exclusion

North Devon Hospice Lottery 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 contactto request self-exclusion will be refused service and prevented from gambling with any lottery administered by North Devon Hospice Lottery. A request for self-exclusion will be available with immediate effect and with no “coolingoff” period. During this period we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the individual does not try and play any lotteries administered by North Devon Hospice Lottery and to prevent any marketing material being sent to them.

We will remove name and details of a self-excluded person from any marketing databases and otherwise flag them as an individual to whom marketing material must not be sent within two days of having received the completed self-exclusion notification. An individual when requesting self-exclusion will be informed as to what self-exclusion is and will be provided information on gambling support agencies; the main being:www.gamcare.org.uk or telephone 0808 8020 133

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 North Devon Hospice Responsible Gambling Policy and Responsible Gambling Guide subscription will be refunded by cheque within 10 working days. Where an individual pays by Standing Order, they will have to contact their bank directly to cancel the Standing Order and we will refund them by cheque each month until such time as the instruction has been cancelled. Where the individual pays by Direct Debit we 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 us, he/she must request in writing that they wish to be removed from the self-exclusion register. Once we receive this letter the individual will be given one day to cool off before being given the opportunity to recommence participation in the lottery. The individual must be the one to take positive action to gamble again and no contact will be made by the charity until contact has been made by that individual.

North Devon Hospice Responsible Gambling Guide

Our Commitment towards Responsible Gambling: The charity is committed to ensure that information about how to gamble responsibly and how to access information and help in respect of problem gambling is readily available to all.

Keeping Your Gambling Under Control: The majority of people do gamble responsibly and gambling in moderation is okay, but it may help you to keep your gambling under control by:

• Remembering that you are taking part for fun and not as a means of investing your money
• Setting strict limits on how much time and money you're going to spend, before playing
• Quitting while you're ahead
• Only gambling with money that you can afford to lose
• Not spending more money on gambling in the hope that you will win back any money that you've already lost
• Keeping up other interests and hobbies and not letting gambling take over your life
• Not gambling in order to escape from stress or boredom.

How To Identify That Gambling Is Becoming A Problem: For some people however, gambling can become a problem. If you are concerned about the amount you are gambling and feel it is taking over your life, then asking yourself the following questions may help you assess whether or not gambling is becoming a problem:

• Have others ever criticised your gambling?
• Have you lied to cover up the amount you have gambled or the time you have spent doing it?
• Do arguments, frustrations or disappointments make you want to gamble?
• Do you gamble alone for long periods?
• Do you stay away from work or college to gamble?
• Do you gamble to escape from a boring or unhappy life?
• Are you reluctant to spend 'gambling money' on anything else?
• Have you lost interest in your family, friends or pastimes due to gambling?
• After losing, do you feel you must try to win back your losses as soon as possible?
• When gambling and you run out of money, do you feel lost, in despair and need to gamble again as soon as possible?
• Do you gamble until your last penny is gone?
• Have you lied, stolen or borrowed just to get money to gamble or to pay gambling debts?
• Do you feel depressed or even suicidal because of your gambling?
• If yes is the answer to some of these questions, then it is likely that a gambling problem exists.

How To Get More Information And Help About Problem Gambling: For friendly and helpful advice from trained counsellors, call GamCare and speak to an advisor on Freephone 0808 8020 133. The helpline operates between 8am andmidnight, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and calls outside of these hours will be taken by a recorded message service. Sometimes just telling someone about your problem can be a relief and it is the first step towards dealing with your problem. You can also visit the GamCare website at www.gamcare.org.uk, for more information and advice.

The Charity Lotteries Self Exclusion Form: Self-exclusion procedures should require individuals to take positive action in order to self-exclude. This can be a signature on a self-exclusion form which is available from North Devon Hospice Lottery on request.