How to Run a 50/50 Raffle for Your Charity: A UK Guide (2026)

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Under UK law, a 50/50 raffle is legally a lottery, and choosing the right category before you sell your first ticket is the single most important decision you will make as an organiser. This guide explains both routes under the Gambling Act 2005, how to price and sell tickets at UK events, and how to raise as much as possible for your cause.

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In this article:

• What is a 50/50 raffle?

• Benefits of 50/50 raffles

• How to price 50/50 raffle tickets

• Which UK route applies?

• How to sell 50/50 raffle tickets

• How to host a 50/50 raffle

• 7 ideas and tips to raise more money with a 50/50 raffle

• Legal considerations for 50/50 raffles in the UK

• Other alternatives to a 50/50 raffle

• Ready to host your 50/50 raffle?

• Frequently asked questions

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What is a 50/50 raffle?

A 50/50 raffle is a simple fundraising tool you can add to almost any event. All you need is an enthusiastic crowd, a team of volunteers, and raffle tickets. Unlike a traditional prize raffle, the prize is half of the total money raised, so everyone has a strong incentive to buy a ticket. The more tickets you sell, the higher the pot.

Ticket prices for UK charity events typically range from £1 to £20, depending on the audience and occasion. Volunteers move around the venue selling tickets while other activities are taking place. At the end of the event, a winner is drawn and announced to the crowd.

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Benefits of 50/50 raffles

50/50 raffles offer a number of advantages for charities and community groups:

• Low cost and easy to organise. Minimal setup compared with traditional prize raffles. No need to source or purchase prizes, the proceeds are simply split.

• A guaranteed winner. Supporters love the chance to win cash. The prize pot grows throughout the event, building excitement and encouraging more ticket sales.

• Strong profit potential. Because half of the proceeds go to your charity, even modest ticket prices can generate meaningful funds. The larger the crowd, the higher the total pot.

• Encourages last-minute giving. Unlike auctions or major-gift appeals, a 50/50 raffle attracts spontaneous participation. Supporters may buy additional tickets as the pot grows.

• Broad appeal. Cash prizes appeal to almost everyone, regardless of their connection to your cause. The format works across gala dinners, school fairs, village fêtes, quiz nights, and sporting events.

• Works for in-person and online events. Digital raffle tools make it straightforward to sell tickets and select winners transparently, whether your event is in the room, hybrid, or entirely online.

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How to price 50/50 raffle tickets

The aim is to sell as many tickets as possible. Some of this depends on how many volunteers you have or on your supporters' preferences. The primary lever for encouraging greater participation is making the prize pot large enough to feel exciting.

To find the right 50/50 raffle ticket price, consider:

• Your audience's spending comfort level

• The costs of other fundraising activities at your event

• The event type and what attendees will expect to pay

• What pot size will genuinely excite your specific crowd

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Example price points for UK events

• PTA and school events: £1 to £5 tickets (even a £25 prize can feel exciting for younger attendees)

• Village fêtes and community fundraisers: £2 to £5 tickets

• Charity gala dinners: £10 to £20 tickets, or strip-of-five bundle pricing

• Sports club fundraisers: tiered pricing (£2 for one, £5 for three, £10 for an arm's length)

One important note for small society lotteries: ticket sales for a single draw must not exceed £20,000, and the ticket price must be identical for every ticket sold in that draw. Both are statutory requirements under the Gambling Act 2005 framework.

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Which UK route applies?

Before you sell a single ticket, you need to work out which legal category your draw falls into. The two routes under the Gambling Act 2005 have very different rules.

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Sources: Gambling Commission, small society lotteries; Gambling Commission, fundraiser lotteries at events

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How to sell 50/50 raffle tickets

Traditionally, charities collected cash in exchange for raffle tickets. Today, fewer supporters carry cash to events, so offering card and digital payment options is essential. Zeffy makes it straightforward to sell 50/50 raffle tickets before and during your event, with customised and automatically generated raffle tickets.

Zeffy accepts all major credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. With Zeffy you can:

• Take card payments on the day with Tap to Pay on iPhone, so volunteers do not need a separate card reader

• Sell raffle tickets online before the event (note: this requires a small society lottery registration to be in place first)

• Scan tickets at the door with a QR code

• Increase ticket sales by offering bundles or discount codes

• Customise your raffle tickets with your charity's branding and add sponsor logos

A note on Gift Aid: Gift Aid does not apply to raffle ticket purchases. Because a buyer receives a chance to win a prize in return for their payment, the transaction is not a donation for Gift Aid purposes (HMRC guidance on Gift Aid). Make this clear to supporters before they buy to avoid any confusion.

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How to host a 50/50 raffle

• 1. Decide which legal route applies and register if required. Work out whether your draw is an incidental non-commercial lottery (tickets sold and drawn entirely at the event, no registration needed) or a small society lottery (tickets sold in advance or online, you must register with your local licensing authority before selling a single ticket). For small society lotteries: register with the council at a cost of £40 initially and £20 for annual renewal; ensure at least 20% of proceeds go to your cause; keep the single-draw ticket sales total under £20,000 and your annual aggregate under £250,000; cap any single prize at £25,000; and submit a return to the local authority within three months of the draw. Tickets must display the promoting society's name, the ticket price, the name and address of the organiser, and the date of the draw. The same Gambling Act 2005 framework applies in Scotland through Scottish local authorities. For Northern Ireland, lottery law is governed separately under its own legislation; contact the Northern Ireland Department for Communities for current guidance. Cite: Gambling Commission guidance on small society lotteries.

• 2. Sell tickets effectively. Offer tickets online and at the event for maximum participation (online sales require a small society lottery registration to be in place first). Encourage purchases when supporters arrive, check in, or during key moments in the evening. Keep the process simple and convenient; make it easy for people to buy at any time. Incentivise supporters to buy multiple tickets with bundle pricing or bulk discounts.

• 3. Promote the raffle during the event. Make periodic announcements about ticket sales and the growing prize amount. Make the draw process and timing clear at the point of sale, in line with the Fundraising Regulator's Code of Fundraising Practice principles of being legal, open, honest, and respectful. Place signs around the venue with raffle details, including the drawing time.

• 4. Engage virtual or hybrid attendees. If hosting online or as a hybrid event, ensure virtual attendees know when the drawing will happen. Use a livestream or event platform to keep them engaged throughout.

• 5. Conduct a fair and transparent draw. Capture attendees' full attention when drawing the winner. Consider drawing the winner as a standalone moment or at the event's conclusion. Use a verifiable random-selection method, a physical drum, a numbered-slip draw witnessed by a trustee, or an auditable digital tool, to maintain transparency. Avoid selling tickets to staff or volunteers to prevent concerns about fairness. If you have registered as a small society lottery, remember to submit your return to the local authority within three months of the draw.

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7 ideas and tips to raise more money with a 50/50 raffle

50/50 raffles can help you raise more money at an in-person, hybrid, or virtual event. In addition to the approaches above, your charity can use the following ideas to increase ticket sales and collect more funds.

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1. Offer discounts

One way to encourage supporters to buy more raffle tickets is to offer a discount when they purchase more than one. You could also offer promo codes for tickets purchased through a specific channel, such as online before the event. For example: one ticket costs £20, but three cost £50. These bundles give supporters better value and help grow the prize pot faster.

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2. Use a multi-winner model

A 50/50 raffle means your charity keeps half the pot and the winner receives the other half, but there is no rule limiting you to a single winner. If your event is large and ticket sales are strong, you can award more than one prize from the winners' share.

Say you collect £5,000. Your organisation keeps £2,500, and you could divide the remaining £2,500 into five prizes of £500 each, or award decreasing amounts: £1,000 for the grand prize, two prizes of £500, and four at £250. With a greater chance of winning something, supporters may be more willing to buy one or more tickets.

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3. Ask volunteers to sell tickets before the event

Your volunteers are vital to your 50/50 raffle, as they sell tickets throughout the evening. But you could also ask them to sell tickets in the days or weeks beforehand. With a little extra effort, your volunteers can extend your reach to friends and family and significantly increase total sales.

Important: selling tickets in advance automatically takes your raffle out of the incidental-non-commercial-lottery category and into the small society lottery route. Make sure your council registration is in place before any pre-event sales begin.

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4. Encourage peer-to-peer raffle ticket sales

Volunteers are not the only people who can sell raffle tickets. Peer-to-peer fundraising (or sponsored fundraising, as it is often called in the UK) has grown in popularity across all age groups. Online platforms such as Zeffy make it straightforward to run a peer-to-peer campaign and sell raffle tickets through it.

You can create a peer-to-peer raffle campaign, add it to your website, and share it via social media or email to your existing supporter base. You can also reach out to donors and volunteers with a strong online following to promote the raffle.

Regulatory note: any peer-to-peer promotion of raffle ticket sales, social media advertising of tickets, or pre-event sales all require a small society lottery registration to be in place first. If fundraisers sell tickets on your charity's behalf, the raffle remains your charity's small society lottery and is covered by your registration, fundraisers cannot run their own separate raffle without your authorisation.

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5. Offer rewards to those who sell raffle tickets

If you run a peer-to-peer campaign, consider rewarding those who sell the most tickets. You could give every fundraiser with their own campaign page a complimentary raffle ticket, and offer further incentives based on how many tickets they sell or how much they raise. Make sure to promote these rewards clearly when inviting people to set up their own campaign page.

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6. Sell sponsor space on your raffle tickets

There are ways to raise more at your event beyond selling additional raffle tickets. When planning your event, work with your committee to approach and secure event sponsors. Create different sponsorship levels with marketing perks to encourage businesses to get involved.

Zeffy includes space for sponsor logos on your raffle tickets. You can offer this as part of a wider sponsorship package or as a standalone option. Supporters will see the company logo every time they look at their ticket, so do not undervalue this opportunity when setting your sponsorship price.

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7. Promote raffle tickets in your newsletter

If your charity sends a monthly or quarterly newsletter, include a link to your online event page so supporters can purchase 50/50 raffle tickets in advance (noting that online or advance sales require your small society lottery registration to be active). Supporters who receive your newsletter are among your most committed; when promoting the raffle, share how the funds raised will be used and bring the cause to life with a beneficiary story.

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8. Use paid ads to reach a wider audience

A 50/50 raffle offers supporters the chance to take home half of everything raised, which can appeal well beyond your existing network. If you expect to raise a significant amount, it may be worth placing ads on Meta or Google to extend your reach.

Important caveats for UK organisers: paid promotion of a charity raffle online is only lawful if you are registered as a small society lottery. You cannot advertise an incidental-event-only lottery online or through paid channels. The Gambling Commission has specific display requirements for online lotteries, including a licensed-status statement in a prescribed format. Always exclude under-18s in your ad platform targeting settings; sales of small society lottery tickets to under-16s are prohibited.

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Legal considerations for 50/50 raffles in the UK

Running a 50/50 raffle in the UK is perfectly lawful, but the Gambling Act 2005 is clear: any draw where tickets are sold to the public in exchange for a chance to win is a lottery, and lotteries are regulated. Getting the legal framework right protects both your charity and your supporters.

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The two routes under the Gambling Act 2005

Most charity draws fall into one of two categories.

Incidental non-commercial lotteries apply when tickets are sold and the draw takes place entirely at the event on the day, with no online or advance sales. Physical tickets only are required. The expenses cap is £100 from proceeds, the prize-from-proceeds cap is £500 (donated prizes are uncapped), and no registration is needed. This is the right route for a school fête raffle, a village hall draw, or a quiz night prize. Source: Gambling Commission, fundraiser lotteries at events.

Small society lotteries apply as soon as you sell tickets in advance, sell online, or hold the draw away from the event. You must register with your local licensing authority (usually the council) before selling a single ticket: £40 for the initial registration, £20 for annual renewal. The key statutory limits are: £20,000 ticket sales per single draw; £250,000 in total across all lotteries in a year; no single prize exceeding £25,000; and at least 20% of proceeds must go to the good cause. You must submit a return to the local authority within three months of the draw. Tickets must display the promoting society's name, the ticket price (identical for all tickets in the draw), the name and address of the organiser, and the date of the draw. Source: Gambling Commission, small society lotteries.

Anything above the small-society-lottery thresholds requires an operating licence from the Gambling Commission itself.

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Gift Aid does not apply to raffle tickets

Because a ticket buyer receives a chance to win a prize in return for their payment, the purchase is not a donation in HMRC's terms, and Gift Aid cannot be claimed on it. Do not describe raffle ticket purchases as tax-deductible or Gift Aid eligible. Make this clear to supporters at the point of sale to avoid confusion. Source: HMRC, Gift Aid guidance.

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Online and cross-border sales

Online ticket sales are permitted for registered small society lotteries, but only to buyers who are physically in Great Britain at the time of purchase. Tickets and any online sales pages must display the statutory information. The Gambling Commission also requires a licensed-status statement in a specified format on any online lottery promotion.

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Fundraising Regulator and the Code of Fundraising Practice

However you advertise and conduct your raffle, the Code of Fundraising Practice (current version effective 1 November 2025, with new Section 9 covering online platforms) applies to your promotional activity. The Code requires fundraising to be legal, open, honest, and respectful. Apply these principles to all raffle advertising, ticketing copy, and draw announcements.

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Data protection

If you collect names or contact details from ticket buyers, which you will for a small society lottery, you are a UK GDPR data controller under the Data Protection Act 2018. Ensure you have a lawful basis for processing personal data (consent or legitimate interest are the most common) and include a short privacy notice on your sales page. UK charities in our community consistently raise GDPR compliance as a key concern before adopting any new tool.

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A note for community groups

You do not have to be a registered charity to run a small society lottery. Constituted community groups, sports clubs, churches, and unincorporated associations can all register with their local council, provided the lottery is for a non-commercial purpose (charitable, sporting, cultural, or similar). Personal fundraising for an individual cannot be run as a small society lottery.

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Devolved nations

Scotland: the Gambling Act 2005 framework applies in Scotland, administered through Scottish local authorities for small society lotteries. Registered charities in Scotland are overseen by OSCR (www.oscr.org.uk) but lottery registration is handled by local councils, not OSCR.

Northern Ireland: lottery law in Northern Ireland is governed separately from Great Britain under its own legislation. If you are based in or fundraising in Northern Ireland, contact the Northern Ireland Department for Communities for current guidance on charity prize draws and lotteries. Do not assume the Great Britain thresholds and registration process apply directly.

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Other alternatives to a 50/50 raffle

Are you looking for a variation on the standard 50/50 format? Other raffle types may suit your charity better.

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60/40 raffle

If you want to raise more for your charity, you can change the split to 60/40, with your organisation keeping 60% of the pot. This works well when your audience is made up primarily of committed supporters who understand and want to maximise the funds raised. Explain the split clearly and connect it to a specific programme or project to help supporters see the impact of the change.

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Prize raffle

Do you have a sponsor, business, or donor willing to contribute a prize? Depending on the quality of the item, a prize raffle can sometimes raise more than a cash-pot draw. For instance, do you know anyone who could donate a weekend cottage break or premium event tickets? An exciting prize can motivate supporters to pay £50 or more for a single raffle ticket. Think through the licensing implications: donated prizes are uncapped for incidental non-commercial lotteries, but for a small society lottery the maximum single prize remains £25,000.

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Reverse raffle

A reverse raffle can be a compelling variation for a gala dinner or formal fundraising event. In a reverse raffle, numbers are called one by one and the last number remaining wins. The suspense builds throughout the draw, making it an event in itself. You can add a twist at the end: when only two or three tickets remain, the holders can choose to keep drawing until one remains or split the pot between them. Reverse raffle tickets can command prices of up to £100 each, producing a large prize pot and significant funds for your charity. Bear in mind all the same licensing rules apply as for a standard 50/50 raffle.

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Ready to host your 50/50 raffle?

Now that you know how to run and promote a 50/50 raffle at your next fundraising event, you are ready to get started. Check the legal route before you do anything else: work out whether you need a small society lottery registration from your local council or whether your event qualifies as an incidental non-commercial lottery. Then set your ticket price with your audience in mind, build your volunteer team, and think about how you will promote the raffle to maximise the prize pot.

Zeffy is free for UK charities and community groups. No platform fee, no transaction fee. Ever. Run your 50/50 raffle on Zeffy and keep 100% of your charity's share.

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Frequently asked questions

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