Andrew Rhodes noted “very significant” growth in unregulated large-scale prize draws.

UK.- The CEO of the Gambling Commission has suggested that the rise of unregulated prize draws could be eating away at the licensed lottery market in the UK. Speaking at the Betting and Gaming Council 2025 AGM, Andrew Rhodes noted a significant rise in free prize draws, which are not regulated as gambling and are not included in data on gambling activity.

“We’ve seen the growth of large-scale prize draws, and that growth has been very significant,” he said. “We’ve also seen society lottery sales go over the £1 billion mark for the first time. It’s getting close to being on a par with betting in terms of participation, also in terms of the average spending.”

Gambling Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes

The British gambling participation rate held steady at 48 per cent in Q3, according to the latest figures from the Gambling Survey of Great Britain, which surveyed 4,675 adults. Some 20 per cent of respondents participated in lottery draws (National Lottery and charity lotteries). This remained level with Q2. 

Non-lottery participation was also steady at 28 per cent. That said, non-lottery online gambling was down despite the success of online casino operations. The percentage of respondents who gambled online was up from 37 per cent in Q2 to 38 per cent, but when lottery is excluded, the figure was down from 17 to 15 per cent. The Gambling Commission described this as a “significant decline”.

There have been calls for free prize draws and competitions to be regulated by the Gambling Commission, particularly large-scale offerings from the likes of Raffle House and Omaze. Lottery operators argue that these products have an unfair advantage since they are unregulated and do not have to meet the same rules for charity funding as lotteries do. Prize draw organisers argue that their product has a lower risk level and should not be deemed gambling. 

The Gambling Survey of Great Britain has initially backed up the argument that certain gaming formats have higher risk, but many argue the prize draws should still be subjected to controls so consumers have more awareness of what they are buying.  

.The Gambling Commission’s next quarterly publication of figures from the Gambling Survey of Great Britain will cover the three months to December 31. The data will be released on May 22. Other findings from the new survey so far include a suggestion that money is not the main reason for gambling.