Re-engage Lottery statement and policy

Statement

As the number of older people experiencing loneliness or isolation continues to grow, the need for the services Re-engage provides increases too. Therefore, we are keen to test new ways of raising money, so that we can continue to expand our services and reach more older people, in need of companionship, across the UK.

The Re-engage Lottery offers a fun way to get involved. Tickets cost from £1 a week, giving players the chance to win up to £25,000 while also helping to make a difference to lonely or isolated people, aged 75 and over.  

We operate the Re-engage Lottery under licence from our local authority, City of Westminster. The lottery is hosted on the Unity Lottery platform, which charities of all shapes and sizes can use to run their own fundraising lotteries. The Unity Lottery platform is administered by Sterling Management Centre Limited, a certified External Lottery Manager (ELM) with the Gambling Commission. Outsourcing the administration of the lottery in this way allows us to minimise the upfront costs, so mitigating any associated risks, and ensures we are compliant at all times.

We are aware that not everybody may agree with our decision to launch a lottery. However, it is a common and widely accepted way of raising money for charity and we hope that many more people will choose to play. Should anyone express a wish not to hear from us about lotteries, we have measures in place to make sure that all lottery communications to them cease immediately. If we become aware of anyone struggling with a gambling addiction, we will also signpost them to GambleAware who can offer confidential advice.

For more information, visit the Re-engage Lottery page on our website.

Policy

Introduction

This document sets out Re-engage’s Lottery Statement together with Re-engage’s commitment to ensuring it meets the Gambling Commission Licence conditions, Anti-Money Laundering Regulations, Responsible Gambling Regulations and sets out the process for handling any complaint received about the Charity’s lottery.

Key events reporting

As part of their commitment to meet their Gambling Commission licence conditions our External Lottery Manager (ELM) will notify the Gambling Commission of any key events that could have a significant impact on the nature or structure of the lottery or raffles.

This notification will be made as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event within five working days of us becoming aware of the event’s occurrence. Notification will be made via the Gambling Commissions e-services facility.

A full account of the key event will be recorded by the Head of Fundraising & Partnerships and the CEO who is the responsible person will be informed.

Procedures

The key events that may affect us and will be reported to the Gambling Commission, via our ELM, are as follows:

• Operator status
  In the case of a petition being presented for its winding up or being placed in administration or receivership or its trustees proposing to creditors a composition in satisfaction of its debts or a scheme of arrangement of its affairs.
• Relevant persons and positions
  Key events in the case of relevant persons and positions include:
  • The taking of any loan from any person not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. A copy of the loan agreement must be supplied.
  • The entering into an arrangement whereby a third party provides services to, or grants any licence concession or permission to, the charity other than for full value. Full details of the arrangements must be supplied.

The appointment of a person to, or a person ceasing to occupy a key position. A key position in relation to the charity is:

• in the case of a small-scale operator, a ‘qualifying position’ as defined in the Gambling Act 2005 (Definition of Small-scale Operator) Regulations 2006
• in the case of an operator which is not a small-scale operator, a ‘specified management office’ as set out in (current) LCCP licence condition 1.2
• a position the holder of which is responsible for the licensee’s anti-money laundering procedures, including suspicious activity reporting.
• any other position for the time being designated by the Commission as a key position. (Notification is required whether or not the person concerned is required to hold a personal management licence and whether or not the event notified requires the licensee to apply for a variation to amend a detail of their licence.)
• Any change to the structure or organisation of the charity’s business that affects a key position or the responsibilities of its holder.

Financial events

Key financial events include:

• Any material changes in the charity banking arrangements, in particular the termination of such arrangements or a particular facility and whether by the charity or the provider of the arrangements.
• Any breach of a covenant given to a bank or other lender.
• Any default by the charity in making repayment of the whole or any part of a loan on its due date.
• Any court judgments (in whatever jurisdiction) against the charity, remaining unpaid 14 days after the date of judgement.
• Where the charity is required to have its accounts independently audited, any qualification to an auditors’ report; and any unplanned change of auditor including a change prompted by a dispute or resulting from auditors being unable or unwilling to sign an unqualified audit report.
• Any change in the charity’s arrangements for the protection of customer funds in accordance with the general licence condition 4 relating to the protection of customer funds (where applicable).
• Where the charity holds customer funds in a separate bank account, any deficit on reconciliation of such bank account.

Legal or regulatory proceedings or reports

Key events concerning regulatory proceedings or reports include:

• The grant, withdrawal, or refusal of any application for a licence or other permission made by the charity, to a gambling regulator in another jurisdiction. In the case of a withdrawal or refusal of the application, the charity will also notify the reasons for such withdrawal or refusal. (This condition does not apply to applications for licences or other permissions to carry on activities that would fall outside the scope of a Gambling Commission operating licence if carried out in Britain or with customers in Great Britain).
• Any investigation by a professional, statutory, regulatory or government body (in whatever jurisdiction) into the charity’s activities, or the activities in relation to the licensed entity of a personal licence holder or a person occupying a qualifying position employed by them, where such an investigation could result in the imposition of a sanction or penalty which, if imposed, could reasonably be expected to raise doubts about the charity’s continued suitability to hold a Gambling Commission licence.
• Any criminal investigation by a law enforcement agency in any jurisdiction in relation to which:
  • The charity is involved (including, but not limited to investigations of crimes allegedly committed against the charity or involving the gambling facilities provided under the licence) and
  • The circumstances are such that the Commission might reasonably be expected to question whether the charity’s measures to keep crime out of gambling had failed.
• Notification of the event must occur as soon as practicable after the charity becomes aware of any such investigation in which the charity is involved, and measures may have failed.
• The receipt of any report from a professional, statutory, or other regulatory or government body (in whatever jurisdiction) of the outcome of a compliance assessment in relation to the gambling activity of the charity in which at least one person who holds a key position in or in respect of the charity holds a key position: a copy of the report should be provided where available to the charity.
• The referral to the charity’s Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, of any material concerns raised by a third party (such as an auditor) about the provision of facilities for gambling which are expressed (in whatever terms) as requiring attention as a high priority. A summary of the nature of the concerns must be provided.
• The imposition by the charity of a disciplinary sanction, including dismissal, against the holder of a personal licence or a person occupying a qualifying position for gross misconduct. The resignation of a personal licence holder or person occupying a qualifying position following commencement of disciplinary proceedings in respect of gross misconduct against that person.
• The commencement (in whatever jurisdiction) of any material litigation against the charity. The charity will also notify the outcome of such litigation.
• The making of a disclosure pursuant to section 330, 331, 332 or 338 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 or section 19, 20, 21, 21ZA, 21ZB or 21A of the Terrorism Act 2000 (a suspicious activity report): the charity will inform the Commission of the unique reference number issued by the United Kingdom Financial Intelligence Unit of the National Crime Agency in respect of each disclosure and for the purposes of this key event the five working day period referred to above runs from the charity’s receipt of the unique reference number. We will also indicate whether the client relationship has been discounted at the time of the submission.

Gambling facilities

Key events concerning gambling facilities include:

• Any breach in the charity’s information security that adversely affects the confidentiality of customer data or prevents customers from accessing their accounts for longer than 24 hours.
• Any change in the identity of the ADR entity or entities for the handling of customer disputes, as required by the social responsibility code provision on complaints and disputes.
• The reference of a dispute to an ADR entity other than one in respect of which contact details were given in accordance with the social responsibility code provision on complaints and disputes; the reason for selection of that ADR entity should be given.
• In the case of remote gambling, the commencement or cessation of trading on website domains (including mobile sites or mobile device applications) or broadcast media through which the charity provides gambling facilities.

Other reportable events

The charity will also notify the Commission in such form or manner as the Commission may from time to time specify, or ensure that the Commission is so notified, as soon as reasonably practicable of the occurrence of any of the following events:

• the conclusion of a dispute referred to an ADR entity and, in such case, providing the Commission with a copy of the decision or note of the outcome.
• any outcome adverse to our charity of any proceedings taken against us (in whatever jurisdiction) by a customer in relation to a gambling transaction; but excluding proceedings allocated to the County Court small claims track or equivalent in jurisdictions outside England and Wales.

Reporting

The responsibility for reporting key events rests with the charity's trustees.

All events should be reported to Re-engage’s CEO immediately, either in writing or if verbally reported, confirmed in writing immediately after notification.

The CEO will refer any incident to the Chair immediately either by telephone or email. The board of trustees (or sub-committee of) will be consulted within 48 hours as to whether the incident warrants a report to the Gambling Commission, via our ELM.

All discussions and decisions taken will be formally recorded and then minuted at the next available Board meeting along with any outcomes and further action taken.

Responsible gambling

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.
• Promoting social responsibility in gambling.

Legislation

Section 3 of the Gambling Commission 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. This responsibility is upheld by our External Lottery Manager, as holders of the Gambling Commission licence.

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.

Re-engage and its staff are committed to the protection of vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling. Our charity 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.

Procedures

Preventing gambling from being a source of crime and disorder, being associated with crime and disorder, or being used to support crime:

• We will outsource our lottery to an External Lottery Manager who maintains their Gambling Commission licenses in accordance with the Licensing Code of Conduct and Practices and submit the required reports to the Gambling Commission.
• We will train relevant employees to recognize suspicious transactions and the process of reporting them in line with the Proceeds of Crime Act.
• Age verification checks will be performed on a sample of lottery players who enter by remote means.
• A single player will be limited to a maximum of £20 worth of entries in our lottery per week.
• Each player in our lottery will be limited to a single membership.
• We 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 18 and may be required to confirm their date of birth. Anyone under the age of 18 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 18 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. Our External Lottery Manager 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. All new staff members will be required to read this policy so that they are aware of the lottery entry requirements and know what to do if they suspect someone has a gambling problem. This information will also be presented at the all-staff meeting at least once a year as a refresher.

To help customers 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 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?
• Is your mental health being affected because of your gambling?

Where a customer answers 'yes' to one or more of these questions they may have a gambling problem and will be advised if they wish to speak to someone about it.

They should contact the National Gambling confidential helpline on 0808 8020 133 or visit the Gamble Aware website for further information.

Self-exclusion

If Re-engage, its staff or External Lottery Manager (ELM) receives communication from an individual wanting to self-exclude 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 External Lottery Manager, Sterling Management Centre Limited utilizes 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 player’s 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.

Anti-money laundering

The UK anti-money laundering regime requirements are set out in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) (as amended by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA)), the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017), The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2019 (MLR) and the Terrorism Act 2000 (TA 2000) (as amended by the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (ATCSA 2001) and the Terrorism Act 2006 (TA 2006).

Legislation

Money laundering is the process by which criminally obtained money or other assets (criminal property) are exchanged for ‘clean’ money or other assets with no obvious link to their criminal origins. Criminal property may take any form, including money or money’s worth, securities, tangible property, and intangible property. It also covers money, however come by, which is used to fund terrorism.

Typically, money laundering happens in three stages:

• Placement – the laundering of criminal proceeds is often required because of the cash- intensive nature of criminal activities. The physical cash is placed into the financial or retail system or smuggled into another country.
• Layering – this is an attempt to mask or disguise the source and ownership of the criminal proceeds by creating layers of financial transactions which obscure the audit trail and provide anonymity. Layers are created by moving funds in and out of various accounts and using electronic fund transfers.
• Integration – this is the final stage and involves integrating the criminal proceeds into the legitimate economic and financial system.

Money laundering offences

The consequences of committing an offence are potentially serious and fall within Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA 2002) Part 7 - Money Laundering Offences. Failing to reveal a suspicion or ‘tipping off’ of a case of money laundering are also offences. In the UK, offences related to Money Laundering may result in being fined (unlimited) or a prison sentence (up to 14 years) or both.

Section 327 of POCA provides that a person commits an offence if they conceal, disguise, convert, transfer or remove criminal property from the United Kingdom. Concealing or disguising property includes concealing or disguising its nature, source, location, disposition, movement or ownership, or any rights with respect to it.

Section 328 of POCA provides that a person commits an offence if they enter into or become concerned in an arrangement which they know or suspect facilitates, by whatever means, the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property by or on behalf of another person.

Section 329(1) of POCA provides that a person commits an offence if they acquire, use or have possession of criminal property.

While POCA places responsibilities on operators, the legislation also gives them protection if they report suspicious activity. Operators will have a defence to the principal money laundering offences in sections 327, 328 or 329 of POCA if they make an authorised disclosure under section 338 of POCA prior to the offence being committed and obtain a defence (appropriate consent) under section 335 of POCA (the consent defence) or intended to make an authorised disclosure but had a reasonable excuse for not doing so (the reasonable excuse defence).

Section 332 of POCA creates a separate offence of failure to disclose in respect of nominated officers outside of the regulated sector who receive disclosures and who do not pass the information to the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) as the disclosure receiving agency when they know or suspect; or have reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in money laundering.

Section 333 of POCA creates the offence of making a disclosure likely to prejudice a money laundering investigation being undertaken by law enforcement authorities.

Procedures

All staff, trustees and volunteers are obliged to make their best endeavours to minimise the risk of any money laundering offences being committed.

The charity will take appropriate measures to assist with minimising this risk which include but are not limited to:

• Outsourcing its lottery function to an independent body.
• Undertaking thorough due diligence on any third party associated with the charity’s lottery procurement.
• Obtain annual declarations of interests, conflicts of interest and related party transactions.

Reporting

The responsibility for reporting money laundering incidents (or the suspicion of) rests with the charity's trustees.

All incidents, whether substantiated or suspicion, should be reported to Re-engage’s CEO immediately, either in writing or if verbally reported, confirmed in writing immediately after notification.

The CEO will refer any incident to the Chair immediately either by telephone or email. The board of trustees (or sub-committee of) will be consulted within 48 hours as to whether the incident warrants a report to the National Crime Agency (NCA).

All discussions and decisions taken will be formally recorded and then minuted at the next available Board meeting along with any outcomes and further action taken.

Risk assessment

The charity considers that the risk of a money laundering incident is exceptionally low given the limited scope of the charity’s lottery and the procurement method (outsourced to an independent lottery manager).

This will be reviewed annually in line with this policy and in reference to the June 2019 Gambling Commission guidance.

Record keeping

All disclosure reports made to the National Crime Agency will be retained by the charity for a period of seven years.

Lottery complaints

In addition to the usual governance, policies, and procedures a registered charity must have, there are additional requirements governed by the Gambling Commission if a charity wishes to operate a lottery.

Re-engage:

• is committed to providing a high-quality lottery service through its third party provider.
• will take seriously any concern or complaint and will investigate it promptly.
• recognises that all stakeholders:
  • have the right to raise concerns or complaints about our services.
  • need access to clear information on how to voice complaints and concerns.
• will deal with complaints in line with its suite of policies regarding confidentiality and data protection.

Legislation

Section 6 of the Gambling Commission Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) says:

Licensees must put into effect appropriate policies and procedures for accepting and handling customer complaints and disputes in a timely, fair, open, and transparent manner. The society/ charity must ensure that they have arrangements in place for customers to be able to refer any dispute to an ADR entity in a timely manner if not resolved to the customer’s satisfaction by use of their complaints procedure within eight weeks of receiving the complaint, and where the customer cooperates with the complaints process in a timely manner. The services of any such ADR entity must be free of charge to the customer.

Licensees’ complaints handling policies and procedures must include procedures to provide customers with clear and accessible information on how to make a complaint, the complaint procedures, timescales for responding, and escalation procedures.

Licensees should keep records of customer complaints and disputes and make them available to the Gambling Commission on request.

In this Code, ‘ADR entity’ means:

• a person offering alternative dispute resolution services whose name appears on the list maintained by the Gambling Commission in accordance with The Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015
• whose name appears on the list of providers that meet the Gambling Commission’s additional standards found in the document ‘Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in the gambling industry – standards and guidance for ADR providers’.

We define a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction made to us by any means, about any aspect of the way we conduct the activities for which our External Lottery Manager (ELM) holds a lottery licence.
For example, a complaint:

• about the outcome of a lottery
• about the way a lottery has been managed
• that concerns the way we, or our ELM, carry out our business in relation to the three licensing objectives.

This policy is in line with our core values. It applies to, but is not limited to, supporters, volunteers and our local communities who feel the need to raise a complaint about our lottery activities, lottery service delivery and/ or lottery communications.

Procedure

If you wish to make a complaint:

• Please send any complaints about the Re-engage Lottery, in writing, to:
  Re-engage
  7 Bell Yard
  London
  WC2A 2JR
• Any complaints relating to the administration of the Re-engage Lottery will be passed to our External Lottery Manager.
• Re-engage will investigate the complaint according to our complaints procedure.
• Unless otherwise stated in the Lottery rules, Re-engage shall make the final decision on the complaint pursuant to the rules and that decision shall be final and binding on all parties.
• If a satisfactory resolution cannot be reached, then the matter can be referred to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) entity. This service is free of charge.

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint, Re-engage can refer you to an ADR (alternative dispute resolution) service and will provide you with the full contact information. A list of Gambling Commission approved ADR’s can be found on its website.

Record keeping

All complaints will be retained by the charity for a period of seven years.

Linked policies and procedures

In addition to this document, the following related policies are applicable:

• Serious incident reporting
• Accident, incident and near miss policy
• Conflict of interests and declaration of interests
• Complaints policy
• Serious incident reporting
• Anti-bribery and corruption
• Donation acceptance policy