Mencap Lottery and Raffle rules, policies and advice

The Rules of the Mencap Snowball Draw

1.    Introduction

1.1.    The Mencap Snowball Draw Raffle (“the Raffle”) will be operated as a large Society Lottery under the Gambling Act 2005 as amended (“the Act”) from time to time.
1.2.    The Raffle is promoted by The Royal Mencap Society and conducted for the benefit of Mencap.
1.3.    The Royal Mencap Society is licensed and regulated in Great Britain by the Gambling Commission under account number   
1.4.    The person responsible for the promotion of the Raffle is Foong-Ye Cross. 
1.5.    By entering the Raffle, Supporters agree to be bound by these rules.
1.6.    The Mencap Snowball Draw is administered by Sterling Management Centre Limited. Sterling Management Centre Limited is licensed and regulated in Great Britain under account number 3137.

2.    Definitions

• “Act”        The Gambling Act 2005
• “Raffle”      The Mencap Snowball Draw Raffle
• “Draw”     The process by which winners are selected
• “Supporter”     An individual who has entered into the Raffle
• “Rules”     The rules of the Mencap Snowball Draw Raffle as set out below and amended from time to time
• Ticket”     The entry into the Raffle.

3.    Entry into the Mencap Snowball Draw Raffle

3.1.    The Raffle is promoted in accordance with the Gambling Act 2005 as amended (“the Act”) throughout Great Britain. In order to comply with the Act, during the purchase of Raffle Tickets you will be required to confirm that:

a) You are at least 18 years of age
b) You will not buy or claim to buy Raffle Tickets on behalf of any other person.

3.2.    If, upon winning any prize in the Raffle, you are not able to prove that you have met the criteria specified in Rules 2.1 (a), (b) and (c) above then you will not be entitled to receive that prize.
3.3.    If a Ticket is sold unknowingly to, on behalf of, or for a person under the age of 18 they will be disqualified from the Raffle and will forfeit any prize they may have won, and the Ticket price will be returned.
3.4.    In order to comply with the Act, Raffle Tickets that have been purchased and entered into the draw for which they were intended are prohibited from being subsequently refunded.
3.5.    By entering into the Raffle you agree to be bound by the Rules, and applicable provisions of the Act and any relevant regulations made there under from time to time. Mencap shall not be liable for any loss or damage (including loss of the opportunity to enter the Raffle and / or the right to receive a prize) suffered by you if you have not complied with the Rules. The Rules may be amended by Mencap from time to time.
3.6.    This Raffle is a form of gambling. Participants are encouraged to gamble sensibly. Should gambling become a problem we recommend you contact the National Gambling helpline on 0808 8020 133 (delivered by GamCare) or visit the website on www.begambleaware.org. 
3.7.    The maximum value of Tickets a Supporter will be permitted to purchase in any one draw is £40.
3.8.    The cost of each Ticket is £1, and only Tickets for which full payment has been received by Mencap shall go into the Draw.
3.9.    The Raffle is not open to employees of Mencap who are directly involved with the running of the Raffle, or any company involved with the running of the Raffle.
3.10.    You can only enter the Raffle by the purchase of a Ticket which will be sold in a variety of forms from time to time.
3.11.    Purchase will require you to provide the following information:
(a) Your name and address, so that we can contact you if you have won a prize.
(b) Confirmation that you are over 18 years of age, in order to ensure compliance with the Act.
(c) The number of Tickets in the Raffle you wish to purchase.

3.12.    You will also be asked to provide the following information:
(a) Your contact telephone number
(b) Your date of birth
(c) Your mobile phone number
(d) Your e-mail address.

3.13.    You will also be required to provide information relating to the purchase of your Tickets. Payment may be made via the following methods and the relevant information will vary depending upon the payment method.
(a) Cheque- a completed and signed cheque in the name of the Supporter
(b) Debit Card- Information required will include card number, expiry date and CVV.

3.14.    No credit card payments will be accepted in line with Gambling Commission regulations.
3.15.    Mencap shall be entitled to take any steps necessary to verify the above information and to process your entry. Mencap may in its absolute discretion refuse to accept an application for an individual to purchase Tickets for the Raffle.
3.16.    It is your responsibility to ensure that the personal information you provide to us is accurate.
3.17.    If you know of any error in your name, address or any other details provided to Mencap as part of your entry you must correct this by notifying Mencap in writing or by e-mail. Mencap will make any required corrections as soon as reasonably possible. Mencap shall not be liable for any loss or damage (including loss of the opportunity to enter the Raffle and / or the right to receive a prize) suffered by you until such correction has been made. Any correction notified to Mencap shall only become effective once the correction has been made.
3.18.    Each Ticket is numbered and each Ticket Number is unique.

4.    Payment

4.1.    Payment for Tickets may be made by the following methods:
(a) Cheque/postal order to be made out to Mencap (preferred) 
(b) Debit Card
(c) Cash
(d) Any other method made available by Mencap from time to time

4.2.    Your Tickets will not be entered into the Draw unless Mencap has received all amounts payable (cleared funds) relating to your Tickets by the closing date. If there is a dispute regarding whether Tickets have been paid for then such dispute shall be resolved by reference to details included in official statements from the bank with which the Raffle’s bank accounts operate.
4.3.    The closing date for entries is 11 January 2027 for offline entries and the closing date for online entries is midnight on 17 January 2027 for online entries. Any postal entries received late will be gratefully accepted as a donation to Mencap.

5.    Draws

5.1.    The Draw will be run at our External Lottery Managers Offices to be held on Monday 18 January 2027.
5.2.    The Draw is run using a Random Number Generator that has been certified by a Gambling Commission approved test house.
5.3.    In order to comply with the Act only those Tickets for which payment has been received are eligible for entry into the Draw.

6.    Prizes

6.1.    Prizes are issued as follows:
(a) First Prize - £3,000
(b) Second Prize - £300
(c) Third Prize - 10 x £100
(d) Fourth Prize - 5 x£20 M&S Gift Card
(e) Fifth Prize -10 X £10 M&S Gift Card.

6.2.    Mencap reserves the right to amend any non-cash prizes to a prize of equivalent or higher value at any time should it be necessary to do so. Any such changes will be published on the Mencap Raffle Website at least one month prior to a change being made.
6.3.    Each Ticket shall only be eligible to win one prize in the Draw.
6.4.    The results of the Draw will be published on the Raffle website within one week of the date of the draw and may also be published in any other manner determined by Mencap from time to time.
6.5.    Winners will be notified by post, phone or email within 7 days of the draw. Winners shall receive winners cheques in the post, or by BACS payment within 30 days of the draw. Such notification will be to the value of the prize won made payable to the Supporter.
6.6.    Mencap reserves the right to withhold the payment of any prize until it is entirely satisfied that the Supporter who has won the prize has fully complied with the Rules.
6.7.    If, upon winning any prize in the Raffle, a Supporter is not able to prove that they have met the criteria specified in rules 3.1 (a), (b) and (c) above then they will not be entitled to receive that prize.
6.8.    There are no alternatives to the prizes offered from time to time and no interest is payable.
6.9.    Any unclaimed prizes will be re-credited as a donation to the Mencap main account after a period of six months has elapsed.
6.10.    By accepting the prize, the winner agrees that Mencap may contact the Supporter to request them to take part in promotional activity.
Based on the Mencap Snowball Drawn 2025, drawn on 9 January 2026, Mencap estimate the likelihood of winning a prize to be on average 1 in 685.

7.    Suspension of the Raffle

7.1.    Mencap may (at its absolute discretion) suspend the Raffle for any period of time. During such period, Mencap shall:
(a) Retain any amounts which were paid prior to such suspension taking effect.

7.2.    Supporters will be notified of further details regarding the resumption of the Raffle or otherwise as soon as reasonably practicable after the date of suspension in writing.

8.    Liability
8.1.    Mencap and Sterling Management Centre Limited shall not be liable to you for any loss or damage suffered by you arising from:
(a) Any delays or failures in the postal service or other delivery methods used by Mencap or you from time to time.
(b) Any delays or failures in any systems used by Mencap or you to transmit emails.
(c) Any failure in any software or other systems used by Mencap for the administration of the Raffle.
(d) Any delays or failures in the banking system used by Mencap or you.
(e) Any refusal by Mencap to accept entry of an individual as an entrant or the cancellation of an entrant by Mencap.
(g) Any event beyond the reasonable control of Mencap. 

8.2.    Mencap shall not be liable to you in contract, tort, negligence or otherwise for any indirect or consequential loss suffered by you in relation to your participation in the Raffle (including loss of the opportunity to enter the Raffle and / or the Ticket or winning a prize).

9.    Self- Exclusion

9.1.    Mencap is committed to operating the Raffle in a socially responsible way. Should you feel that you are experiencing problems with gambling and wish to be self-excluded from our Raffle please phone 0207 696 6007 and request that we opt you out of our raffle and lottery communications.
9.2.    There is a minimum period of 6 months self-exclusion.
9.3.    We will not target you with any gambling marketing material during the self-exclusion period and will remove your name and details from any marketing databases used by ourselves.
9.4.    If you need to talk to someone about problem gambling then please seek advice and support from GambleAware via their website at www.begambleaware.org or call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 (Freephone). GambleAware is a registered charity that provides confidential telephone support and counselling to anyone who is affected by problem gambling.

10.    Complaints

10.1.    Any complaints relating to the Raffle should be sent in writing to Mencap, giving full details of the complaint and supporting documentation. Mencap operates a Complaints Policy  which will be made available to you upon request. 
10.2.    The Promoter’s decisions made pursuant to the Rules shall be final and binding.
10.3.    Save where the Rules expressly provide otherwise, the Promoter shall not be obliged to enter into any correspondence.

11.    Privacy

11.1.    Mencap has a Privacy Policy that explains our information practices, including how we use your information, how you can update it or ways to unsubscribe. We will only collect and use information from you in line with this policy. The policy can be found on the Mencap Privacy Policy page.

12.    Proper Law and Jurisdiction

12.1.    The Laws of England and Wales shall govern the interpretation and/or enforcement of these Rules and  Mencap and all Supporters hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

13.    Contact Address

All correspondence should be sent to the following address:
Royal Mencap Society, 6 Cyrus Way, Hampton, Peterborough, PE7 8HP.

The majority of people gamble responsibly. It may help you to keep your gambling under control by remembering the following:

• You are buying for fun, not investing your money.
• Before playing, set strict limits on how much time and money you are going to spend.
• Quit while you are ahead.
• Only gamble with money you can afford to lose.
• Do not spend more money on gambling with the hope of winning back money you have lost.
• Keep up other interests and hobbies - do not let gambling take over your life.
• Do not gamble to escape from stress or boredom.
• Gambling in moderation is okay.

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 (or if you are concerned for a friend or relative) then the following questions may help to give you some guidance :

• Have others ever criticised your gambling?
• Have you ever lied to cover up the amount you have gambled or 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 and 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 you feel you are answering more ‘yes' than ‘no' to the above questions, then it is likely a gambling problem exists.

If you are concerned about the amount you are gambling, you can Self Exclude from Mencap gaming communications online by emailing [email protected].

Contact details

For friendly and helpful advice on gambling from trained counsellors, contact the GamCare helpline on 0845 600 0133.

The helpline is open 24 hours a day. Sometimes just telling someone about your problem can be a relief and it is often the first step towards dealing with your problem.

You can also visit the GamCare website for more information and advice.

Self exclusion

11.1 Should you feel that you have issues with gambling and wish to be self excluded from our Lottery please phone our helpline number and request a self exclusion form

11.2 There is a minimum period of 6 months self exclusion.

11.3 We will not target you with any marketing material during the self exclusion period and will remove your name and details from any marketing databases used by ourselves.

11.4 During your self exclusion your account will be closed and any funds held on your behalf will be returned to you. You will need to contact Sterling after your period of self exclusion to re-instate your membership of the Lottery.

Mencap will only conduct their lottery and raffles with an External Lotteries Manager (ELM) registered with the Gambling Commission.

However, we recognise that there may be times when our supporters who take part in lotteries and raffles may wish to raise concerns about problems they have encountered.

Staff will ensure that supporters are told the correct information of the person to contact in the event of a complaint. All complaints will be brought to the attention of the direct marketing team.

Mencap will:

1. Make this Complaints and Disputes Procedure available to a potential or actual customer ("the customer") via Mencap’s website, or upon request.
2. Handle all complaints in accordance with this Complaints and Disputes Procedure
3. Advise the Gambling Commission on the status of all disputes that are referred to the Promoter (see below).

Complaints Procedure

The below procedure will be initiated after the supporter contacts Mencap’s Supporter Care Team. 

Stage 1

1. If you wish to register a complaint or a dispute with us, contact our Supporter Care team on 0845 077 0777, or email [email protected].
2. Any problems or concerns that are brought to Mencap's attention will be formally recorded within the Lottery or Raffle Complaints Log, initially as an 'incident', for Mencap’s future analysis.
3. We aim to respond as soon as possible, normally within five days. If the investigation of the complaint is likely to take longer than five days, we will contact you to let you know the proposed timescales and next steps.
4. We will contact you to let you know the outcome of your complaint and any actions we have taken as a result of this.

Stage 2

1. If you are unhappy with the resolution of your complaint, we will escalate the complaint internally to the Individual Giving Lead, who will liaise with the Director of Fundraising to set out a mutually agreeable resolution.
2. The matter will be escalated to a 'dispute', if applicable.
3. You will be sent an acknowledgement of the escalation of your complaint in writing within 48 hours of us receiving it, and an investigation of your complaint will then begin.
4. Every effort will be made to complete this investigation within seven days of receipt.
5. We will then contact you with our findings, recommendations, and proposed actions.

Stage 3

1. If you are still not satisfied, we will escalate the matter further to the The Fundraising Regulator and Gambling Commission.
2. The Fundraising Regulator or Gambling Commission will consider your complaint in light of the Fundraising Promise and the Institute of Fundraising's codes of fundraising practice.
3. The conclusions drawn by The Fundraising Regulator or Gambling Commission are final.
4. A copy of each decision or a note of the outcome of, each dispute referred to The Fundraising Regulator will be provided to the Gambling Commission quarterly by Mencap.