Commercial Raffle Organisers

Raffles can be conducted by, or on behalf of, organisations that are declared by the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) as a community or charitable organisation.

If an organisation is:

• not declared by us as a community or charitable organisation, or
• their declaration status has expired,

find out about applying for a declaration at Becoming a Declared Community or Charitable Organisation for Raffles.

Requiring a commercial licence

A commercial raffle licence is required if the person:

• is not an employee of a declared community or charitable organisation
• conducts a raffle, in whole or part, on behalf of a community or charitable organisation
• receives payment for their services.

Any person who conducts a raffle on behalf of a declared community or charitable organisation must have written consent from the organisation's governing body.

Commercial raffle organiser (CRO)

If you intend to conduct a raffle:

• on behalf of a declared community or charitable organisation, and
• on a commercial basis,

you must hold a Commercial raffle organiser's licence.

Requirements for submission – company, incorporated association or partnership

• a copy of the Certificate of Registration and constitution/Replaceable Rules (if a company) or a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation, rules/Constitution and Statement of Purpose and the minutes of the most recent meeting confirming the committee members (if an incorporated association)
• a copy of the Record of Registration for all Business Names
• a copy of the minute or resolution appointing the officer authorised to apply for a licence on behalf of the applicant
• a copy of independent documentation confirming the court outcome or, if settled out of court, a copy of the settlement agreement
• historical organisational extract (only applicable if the applicant is incorporated under Australian Corporations Law)
• Accountant or Auditor’s statement, and summary of financial information
  • a financial institution letter
  • a listing of the applicant’s creditors
  • credit report
  • a copy of the Trust Deed if applicable
• if it has been published, a copy of the public notice (unless applying for renewal of a licence)
• required details regarding the Responsible Gambling Code of Conduct
• a corporate structure detailing the relationship of the company to any subsidiary, parent and related entities must be provided, if such a structure exists
• a copy of the business plan including financial projections for the first 3 years and governance and compliance framework.

Requirements for submission – Sole Trader/Partnership

• Complete application form - Every question on the application form has been answered.
  • Financial Institution letter
  • Historical Personal Name Extract from ASIC
  • National Police Certificate
  • Credit Report
  • required details regarding the Responsible Gambling Code of Conduct
  • passport size photos
• tax returns and Notice of Assessment from the Australian Tax Office of the past 3 financial years
• nominee application (if the nominee is not part of a new/renewal Venue Operator Licence application)
  • Listing of your creditors
• copy of the Public Notice
• a copy of independent documentation confirming the court outcome or, if settled out of court, a copy of the settlement agreement
• associated entity and associated individual application forms including all required attachments
• a copy of the business plan including financial projections for the first 3 years and governance and compliance framework.

Requirement for notification of changes while your application is in progress

Between lodging your application and a decision being made about it, you must notify the VGCCC in writing immediately of any changes to the information you have provided (including any documents lodged with the application). Breaching this requirement may incur penalties.

False or misleading information

It is an offence under the Gambling Regulation Act 2003 (the Act) to give information that is false or misleading. If you give false or misleading information, your application may be refused and/or you may be prosecuted and fined up to 60 penalty units. Go to Gambling and gambling related offences to confirm the current value of a penalty unit.

For information about the application fee, see Application fees.

• Commercial raffle organiser: sole trader. For a copy of this form please email [email protected].
• Company, incorporated association or partnerships. For a copy of this form please email [email protected].
• Commercial raffle organisers: associated entity. use this form if the company applying has only individuals as associates. If the applicant is:
  
  • a trustee of a trust, or
  • has other companies as associates as well as individuals. For a copy of this form please email [email protected].
    
• Commercial raffle organisers: associated individual (online). If applying as part of another application for a:
  
  • new Commercial raffle organiser licence, or
  • renewed Commercial raffle organiser licence, or
  • as part of an Associated entity application, For a copy of this form please email [email protected].
• Nominee for a Commercial Raffle Organiser. If applying as part of another application for a:
  
  • new Commercial raffle organiser licence, or
  • renewed Commercial raffle organiser licence, or
  • as part of an Associated entity application. For a copy of this form please email [email protected]
• Statement of return for conduct of a raffle

Once the application is completed with accompanying documentation, it can be lodged via email to: [email protected]

Appointing a nominee

Corporate commercial raffle organiser licence holders must appoint a nominee. If this nominee ends their duties, it's the licensee's responsibility to inform the Commission within 14 days.

The nominee is responsible for ensuring the activity is conducted in compliance with:

• gambling laws
• rules of the game, and
• permit conditions.

Once a new nominee has been appointed, a Nominee for a Commercial Raffle Organiser form must be completed. For a copy of this form please email [email protected].

Surrendering your licence

If you no longer want to be a commercial raffle organiser (CRO), you need to fill in the appropriate form.

Download the Surrender of CRO form:

and email it to: [email protected]

You'll need to include:

• whether you are currently conducting any raffles on behalf of declared community and charitable organisations, and
• a list of conducted raffles where a return had not been submitted in the past three months (if applicable).
  

Contract with licensee to conduct raffle

A declared community or charitable organisation may enter into an agreement with the holder of a commercial raffle organiser's licence. This is for the licensee's conduct of a raffle, on behalf of the organisation.

The Act requires that the agreement must provide for:

• the licensee to comply with all provisions of the Act
• the licensee to submit periodic audited statements to us
• retaining records required by the Act
• giving (to the declared organisation) a copy of all documents submitted by the licensee to us on behalf of them, and
• the maximum fee to be paid to the licensee for the raffle.

Read Section 8.5A.23 of the Gambling Regulation Act for more information.

If an agreement is entered, the CRO is solely liable under the Gambling legislation as if they're the declared organisation.

A community or charitable organisation must:

• give a copy of this agreement to us, and
• notify us of the termination of the agreement.

*Note: it's a requirement under the Gambling Regulations that if the responsible person for the raffle is not:

• an employee of the organisation or charity, and
• has an agreement to promote/conduct the raffle for reward,

the company name and number must be printed on every ticket or on all material advertising the raffle. In addition, the name and (if applicable) the ACN of the responsible person must be printed on:

• every ticket, or
• on all material advertising the raffle.

Statement of return by a CRO

CROs must send us a full and accurate statement about the raffle within 3 months after the raffle is drawn. You will need to use the statement of return for conduct of a raffle. For a copy of this form please email [email protected].

Conditions of CRO licence

Licensed CRO’s must comply with the following prescribed conditions of their licence:

(a) The licensee must not purchase raffle tickets in a commercial raffle run by the licensee;

(b) The licensee must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the following persons do not purchase raffle tickets in a commercial raffle run by the licensee:

(i) a relative of the licensee

(ii) a director or employee of the licensee

(iii) any person liable as licensee in relation to the raffle

(iv) a relative of a person mentioned in sub-paragraph (ii) or (iii)

(c) If the licensee enters into an agreement with a community or charitable organisation the licensee must:

(i) for each successive period of 7 days after the agreement is entered into (or within any other period/s determined by the Commission and notified in writing to the licensee) the licensee must deposit the portion of raffle proceeds owing to the community or charitable organisation into their bank account; and

(ii) at the time any money is deposited by the licensee under sub-paragraph (i), provide the community or charitable organisation with a written statement detailing:

• the number of tickets sold during the raffle, and
• the amount of money deposited.

Status of organisations or licensees

CROs are able to confirm whether an organisation is a declared community or charitable organisation on our list of current declared organisations(opens in a new window).

Current list of CROs

Below is a list of Commercial raffle organiser's licence holders: