A group of charity and lottery company representatives have agreed to work on a plan to push for reform of what they argue are burdensome regulations on charity lotteries and raffles.

nfpSynergy’s Joe Saxton, who famously led the charge on mobile companies cutting the fees levied on charities, convened a group in London last Friday to discuss how to lobby government and the Gambling Commission to relax some of the rules around charity lotteries which many charities present said made running raffles and lotteries difficult.

The primary areas of concern for the group included the 80/20 rule – which legislates for how much a charity must earn from ticket sales, the complexity of securing both remote (online) and non-remote licences, and the treatment of charity lotteries as the same as commercial gambling activities.

As supported by research conducted by Fundraising magazine and nfpSynergy last autumn, many in the room characterised the regulatory regime as cumbersome and confusing, particularly for smaller charities and community fundraising.

Clive Mollett of the Lotteries Council has been charged with producing a consultation document by next month which will then be distributed for wider sector consultation. The document will likely contain calls for a relaxation of the 80/20 rule and the unification of remote and non-remote licences, but the group agreed that raising the overall limits for lotteries is not an immediate concern.

The Institute of Fundraising also indicated it would take a role in canvassing fundraiser opinion on the subject.

After taking views from the sector, the group will convene again to develop a concrete plan on lobbying the relevant authorities.