Buying a Grand National sweepstake ticket today could break the law

Any employee buying a ticket for their workplace’s Grand National sweepstake could be breaking the law if they don’t buy it on one of their days in the office. The post-pandemic trend for hybrid working could leave many businesses and their employees at risk of breaking gambling laws, leading gambling licensing law firm Poppleston Allen is warning.

With this weekend’s Grand National attracting the interest of not just racing fans but the public at large, it is typically one of the most popular events for an office sweepstake. A study carried out by YouGov for Online Betting Guide (OLBG) found that more than one in five (22%) Brits were planning on having a wager on the nation’s biggest horse race via some method.

But while for many that method is their employer’s office sweepstake, for this to be legal, they must buy a physical ticket while they are in the office – it can’t be done remotely.

“Formal gambling activity is heavily regulated by the Gambling Commission, but workplace sweepstakes fall under an exemption that is officially called a work lottery,” says Richard Bradley, partner at Poppleston Allen. “However, what many people might not realise – particularly in today’s society where almost everything is done online – is that the rules still only allow organisers to sell physical tickets to players who are in the office. Tickets cannot be sold by phone, email or online.

“If employees are following what has become the norm in many offices since the pandemic and working from home on Mondays and Fridays, they must make sure they get their ticket in person by Thursday to ensure they don’t fall foul of gambling regulations.

“In addition, all players must work in the same office – sweepstakes running between different office locations of the same company are not allowed. If both these rules aren’t followed, organisers and players would technically be involved in illegal gambling.”

Bradley added that other rules that must be followed to make sure workplace sweepstakes are compliant with Gambling Commission rules include the following:

• All players must pay the same amount for a ticket;

• Horses must be decided by chance, for example, drawn out of a hat;

• No one can make a profit and all stakes must be returned as prizes or donated to a designated charitable cause, though an organiser can deduct reasonable administration costs for running the contest;

• If a sweepstake is used for charity fundraising this should be made clear when purchasing a ticket;

• The sweepstake can only be advertised at the work premises; and

• There must be a winner – the prize cannot be rolled over.