Our terms and conditions are changing and will take effect from 29th December. To view these please click here

1. ABOUT OUR LOTTERY

Who are make a smile lottery?

Make a smile lottery exists solely to raise funds for good causes. We are owned and operated by St Helena Hospice, and we are working with other good causes to raise funds to support people in need of charitable services. By working in this way, costs, and overheads of running a fundraising lottery are kept to a minimum.

St Helena Hospice is the promoter of the lottery, trading as make a smile lottery. St Helena Hospice is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales Number 01511841. Registered Charity Number 280919. Registered Office: Myland Hall, Barncroft Close, Highwoods, Colchester, CO4 9JU.

Make a smile lottery Office: 6 The Atrium, Phoenix Square, Colchester, Essex, CO4 9AS.

St Helena Hospice Limited is licensed and regulated in Great Britain by the Gambling Commission under account number 4685.

Which charities are supported by make a smile lottery?

Our lottery supports good causes all over Great Britain. Please see all of the causes we support here.

How does it work?

Each entry to the draw costs £1, but you can play more.
The draw takes place every week of the year, usually on a Friday.
When you play, you choose which cause you want to support.

Why play the lottery?

Make a smile lottery is a fun and easy way to raise money to help our partners, and you have the chance to win too!
Lottery fundraising is a great way to provide good causes with a valuable and regular income, that they can really rely on and plan for in the future.

Entry to the Lottery

Players must be aged 18 years or over and a resident of Great Britain. It is an offence to gamble under the age of 16, however our minimum age is 18.

Payment must be received in advance to play. All payments received at a minimum of £1 per week payable in advance will be entered into the weekly draw.

We reserve the right not to accept an application, or to cancel an existing subscription, at our absolute discretion. Anyone with a balance, will have that balance credited back to the good cause they are supporting after 10 weeks of cancellation. Any such rejection or cancellation may be reconsidered on submission of a written appeal to the Head of Lottery within 7 days. The decision of the Head of Lottery will be final. Any unused funds will be returned in this case.

No paid employee of St Helena Hospice who works in the make a smile lottery office (6 The Atrium, Phoenix Square, Colchester, Essex, CO4 9AS) may play the Lottery- this includes a family member with a shared bank account with the paid employee..

2. WHAT ARE MY CHANCES OF WINNING?

What are the weekly prizes?

There are 142 guaranteed weekly prizes: £1000 x 1, £250 x 1 and £10 x 140. Plus a rollover prize of £500, that rolls over each week should it not be won, up to a maximum of £25,000.

What are my chances of winning?

In the last financial year (April 22 – March 23) there were an average 27,819 weekly plays across our charity partners, with 6,734 prizes being given away over the year.

Any prize = 1 in 204 tickets entered into the draw will win a prize
These figures are estimated using current plays and figures and can vary slightly from each week. These are an approximate and can be updated at any time.

How do the winners get drawn?

The weekly prizes are set prior to the draw in order of the highest value prize to the lowest. Winning numbers are drawn and allocated to the prizes that have been set. i.e., the first number picked at random will win the highest prize, second number picked will win the second highest prize etc. When a number is allocated a prize, it will not automatically be taken out of the next prize draw, but it will be rejected from winning a prize twice.

The lottery software that we use (the Powered by Jumbo Lottery Platform) is fully licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission and uses a random number generator, which has been independently tested, using a variety of industry-standard statistical tests carried out by a Gambling Commission approved test house compliant with ISO/IEC 17025:2005.

Rollovers involve a two-step process - 1. The system decides randomly whether will be won or not (set at a 5% chance of winning each week); 2. the system decides the prize is to be won, it randomly picks a winner. If the prize is not to be won, it will increase by £500. This will repeat each week until the rollover prize stands at £25,000, where we will manually set the chance of the prize being won to 100%.

How do winners get informed?

Please visit section 6 on claiming a prize.

3. WHERE DOES MY MONEY GO

Where does the money go?

From your first draw with us, you will be making a difference to the cause that you have chosen to support.

The cause that you have chosen to support will receive between 20p and 65p of every £1 depending on at what stage they are with their contract with make a smile lottery.

In the last financial year (April 2022 - March 2023):
Lottery Income that went towards good causes - £573,992.20 (38.9%)
Lottery income that went on expenses - £741,499.80 (50.3%)
Lottery income that went on prizes - £132,500.00 (10.8%)

Thanks to our fantastic members, the lottery is raising money where it is needed most, and it makes a massive difference to our cause partners and the families and animals they support.

St Helena Hospice receives a small income for administering the lottery from each membership, which goes towards helping people face incurable illness.

4. JOINING THE LOTTERY

How do I join and pay for entry in the lottery?

You can choose to pay in the following ways, either on the website, face to face or over the phone:

• A Monthly Direct Debit. To play one number each week it costs £4.34 per month, 2 numbers per week would cost £8.68, and 3 numbers per week would cost £13.02.

• By Debit Card – this type of payment can be used for one-off or multi week entries, charged all at once. If you select the autoplay method, you can play up to 5 plays per week until this method is cancelled.

• By Cheque (£13 Quarterly, £26 Half Yearly, £52 Annually).

• By purchasing single tickets each week.

There are no admin fees. All monies taken go into the draw. We do not accept credit cards. Payments will be required to be successfully authenticated using 3D Secure.

Can I choose my lottery number and how is it allocated?

Unfortunately, you cannot choose your lottery play number. If you join on an autoplay (Direct Debit) payment method you will receive the same lottery play number in all draws of the year. If you choose to play by choosing the number of tickets for the amount of weeks, you will receive a different play number for each draw you enter.

All lottery play numbers are generated by the Powered by Jumbo lottery software system.

How and where can I join?

There are various ways to join:

• At makeasmilelottery.org.uk.
• By calling 0300 303 4500.
• Contact us by email or via our social media channels.
• Fundraisers who may call you, knock on your door or at a venue. (please see there face (here)
• Postal application.
• In person, at our registered office address.

Can I just play in one draw/game without committing to a regular autoplay?

Yes, you don’t have to commit to a regular or large payment with us, you can select how many tickets for how many draws you would like to play (even if it’s one ticket for 1 draw).

If the rollover gets high, you can purchase additional chances in the one draw. Committing to a regular payment option really gives a good cause a regular income throughout the year that they rely on and plan for.

How many weekly entries to the draw is one person allowed?

To deter problem gambling, the maximum number of lottery subscription entries per player per week is 5. Of these, a maximum of 2 can be via Face to Face sign up, 3 via our telesales fundraising team or 5 via website sign up. Anyone wanting to purchase more than 5, will need to be approved by the Head of Lottery.

If you would like more, please contact us, we may allow you up to ten provided we are satisfied that you are gambling responsibly.

The maximum number of single tickets that can be purchased per player per week is limited to 100.

Can I set up a Syndicate?

Unfortunately, we are currently unable to set up a Syndicate.

What communication will I receive when I join?

When you join, you will receive confirmation of your payment, direct debit guarantee (if applicable) and confirmation of the draws you have entered for.

We will email you your play numbers. If you have selected to play via ‘autopay’ (Direct Debit) you will receive your play number/s after your first Direct Debit has been taken. Otherwise, if you pay by Debit Card, you will receive your play numbers immediately after purchase.

We will also send you details about the cause you are supporting and how you are helping. You will receive regular communication from us about your membership, we don’t like to bombard you but simply keep you informed about where your money is going and how you are helping to support.

We will contact you as per the preferences you selected when you created your account. Unfortunately, if you don’t tick to hear from us via email, you won’t hear from us very often, as we are striving to stay green and to keep costs low.

You can change your details and preferences in your online account.

Direct Debit Payments

When you join us, you are able to select your preferred Direct Debit date from these dates: 1st, 8th, 15th, 23rd, 28th of every month.

Once we have received your application, we will enter you into the next available draw after your first Direct Debit payment is taken.

We will email you (or write to you if you have opted for postal communication) with your Direct Debit details and when your first payment will be taken.

Payment will continue to be paid from your bank account on your behalf until you notify us differently.

As soon as your first payment is taken, we will send you your lottery play numbers.

Card Payments

We accept card payments either face to face, by telephone, or via the website.

The Head of Lottery will take all reasonable steps to ensure payments received into its bank account are considered as a stake in the draw. In the event of ambiguous credits into the bank account, the Head of Lottery will take reasonable steps to confirm with the sender, the sender’s intentions in relation to the credits of these monies, and the Head of Lottery will act as appropriate thereafter.

The Member must be the cardholder. The Head of Lottery will not take any further card payments without permission from the cardholder. The Head of Lottery will hold a record of all transactions.

A member will be informed where a card transaction has succeeded or failed, and if card payments decline, we will inform the member and request another form of payment.

If a payment fails, we will attempt to re-collect 3 times before cancelling the play.

When your credit is running low, we will contact you and let you know your membership is due for renewal.

Gift Aid

Unfortunately, subscriptions to the Lottery cannot attract Gift Aid.

5. YOUR DATA

Your Data

At make a smile lottery, we’re committed to protecting & respecting your privacy in everything we do. We will use your personal information to fulfil our contract with you and keep you informed about your lottery membership (using post, email, phone and text). These communications may include (but will not be limited to) information about your lottery numbers, first draw date, prize fund, where your money is going, how you are helping and to tell you if you win.

We may also contact you by email, phone, or text to tell you more about other ways you can get involved with make a smile lottery, including more chances to win and other lottery games. We will ask you at the stage of joining the lottery if you wish to opt out of these communications. You may also opt out of these communications at any time by contacting us.

We may get in touch by post about other ways you can help.

If you’d like to know more about what we do with your personal information, please read our privacy notice.

You can update your preferences, or stop marketing communications at any time by contacting us on 0300 303 4500, or by amending the communication preferences via the My Account tab.

We promise to comply with all Data Protection Act and (UK) GDPR requirements and protect your personal information. We cannot accept liability for the loss of, theft of, or delays to any communication, or for any delays in the banking system. We will not use your personal information for any other purpose than operating our lottery and we will not share your information with any third party other than for the purposes of operating the lottery. Where we do share your information with third parties, we will require them by contract to protect your personal data as we do. By completing the application form, you consent to the data on it being held and used by make a smile lottery.

It is the responsibility of players to advise us of any changes to their personal details, including their address.

Does my data go to the cause I am supporting with my lottery membership?

When you originally create a make a smile account or join the lottery with us, we will ask you your preference of whether you would like to hear from make a smile and your chosen cause by the following methods: post, email, or SMS.

Your data goes to your supporting cause if you select to hear from them when creating your account. You can opt in to receive email, direct mail, SMS, and phone communication.

Your chosen cause is responsible for your information once we pass it to them and they will have their own privacy notices that you should read. They may get in touch by post about other ways you can help them.

If you wish to change your preferences at any time, please contact your chosen cause and make changes within your make a smile online account or call us on 0300 303 4500 to ensure the changes can be made.

Your online account

Within your account there is a section called ‘My settings,’ where you can update your details and change your password. Within your account you can view the tickets you have purchased; draws you have entered and prizes you have won won. You can easily purchase more tickets, check upcoming draws, and withdraw winning funds, see Section 6 for more information.

6. CLAIMING A PRIZE

If you have regular membership with us or purchased single tickets via the website:

• We notify winners shortly after the draw via email and text message, we may even call you if it’s a big win!

• If we hold an email address for you, your winning cash amount will be transferred into your account where you can request to withdraw it to your bank account. Please go to ‘My Account - My Funds – Withdraw Funds’ and then withdraw funds to make a request to our admin team. We will pick this up for you and process this within 7-10 working days. With the exception of bank holidays, we aim to process prize withdrawals on a Monday (cut off 12 pm) and transfer funds by the following Wednesday. Any withdrawal requests after Monday pm will be processed the following week.

• If we hold an email address for you, but you do not want to withdraw your winnings from an online account. Please contact us and we will send your winning sterling cheques out to you shortly after the draw, payable in the member’s name and the address we have on our system.

• If you do not have an email address, we will send your winning sterling cheques out to you shortly after the draw, payable in the member’s name and the address we have on our system.

• If you wish to donate your prize back to your chosen cause, please email hello@makeasmilelottery.org.uk with your name, unique lottery number and postcode.

• Winning numbers can also be checked at makeasmilelottery.org.uk, on our social media channels and posters at partner locations.

• It is the player’s responsibility to keep us up to date with any changes of address as cheques will be sent to the address given upon sign up. As above, address changes can be made in your account or by calling 0300 303 4500.

• If your address is out of date and your cheque is returned, we will make every reasonable effort to get in touch with you and get your cheque to you.

• All lottery results are stored permanently on the website and can be searched for at any time showing all play numbers. Please search by draw number under the Results Tab or log into your online account to see your specific wins.

Uncashed or unclaimed prizes

In the event of prize winnings in your online account being unclaimed, cheques remaining un-cashed, and shop tickets remaining unclaimed, after a period of 6 months, the Promoter reserves the right to donate the value of the cheque to the hospice you are supporting with your lottery membership. It is the responsibility of all lottery players to keep us up to date with their contact details.

Taking part in publicity if I win

We may ask you if you wish to take part in publicity if you win, or share your story as to why you support.

Sharing these stories means we can engage with potential supporters, and keep our players playing for longer so it really does help us!

But please don’t feel obliged to take part. If you would like to feature, please contact us.

We reserve the right to ask for proof of age of any player and claimant of a prize.

7. ENDING YOUR MEMBERSHIP

Cancellations

If you wish to cancel a membership, you can do this via your online account, or please contact us. We appreciate the support you have given us.

If you pay by regular Direct Debit/autopay, the next available payment will be cancelled.

Any credit or advanced payment at the time of cancelling will be used as entries into the draw until the amount becomes less than £1. Any pence credit that remains on your account will, after a period of 10 weeks, be treated as a general donation to the good cause that you have been supporting (as detailed in that member’s application form or account).

Any refunds will be at the Head of Lottery’s discretion and only made in exceptional circumstances.

Deceased players

Please contact us to cancel a play for a deceased player, we will require a death certificate.

The lottery numbers will remain in the draw until the member's credit expires.

We can stop Direct Debits from our side but standing orders need to be cancelled with the bank.

8. RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING

Responsible Gambling

Make a smile lottery are committed to raising vital funds via this lottery in a responsible way.

We have a responsibility to provide a secure, safe, and fair service and to endorse responsible gambling amongst people playing our lottery or who may be exposed to the marketing of our lottery. We are committed to the three main objectives of the Gambling Act 2005: 1. To prevent gambling from being a source of crime and disorder, being associated with crime and disorder, or being used to support crime. 2. Ensure that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way. 3. Protect children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

As such, we abide by the Licensing Conditions and Codes of Practice, a condition which we have been granted a license by the Gambling Commission.

Our Terms and Conditions and rules of play are set out clearly, all questions you have should be covered in this document.

We are very clear about where your money goes, how our lottery works and the chances of winning.

The results of the draw are published weekly.

Make a smile make a financial contribution to support problem gambling via the Lotteries Council.

Players must be 18 or over

You must be 18 or over to play make a smile lottery.

Make a smile lottery reserves the right to ask for proof of age of any player and claimant of a prize. When joining the lottery, each member also agrees to us carrying out checks in any way we may deem appropriate. This may include, but is not limited to, references to credit and government agencies.

When joining make a smile lottery a declaration must be signed (or a box ticked online or over the telephone) to confirm the player is 18 or over, and we will also ask you your date of birth. By submitting a request to join the Lottery, each member is deemed to confirm that they are aged 18 years or over.

Any individual found to be under 18 will not be able to purchase an entry into the lottery. A lottery membership must not be purchased on behalf of an individual under the age of 18.

We reserve the right not to accept an application, or to cancel an existing subscription, at our absolute discretion. It is also at our absolute discretion on, if remaining funds will be used to enter future draws or refunded back to your original payment method. Any such rejection or cancellation may be reconsidered on submission of a written appeal to the Head of Lottery within 7 days. The decision of the Head of Lottery will be final. Any unused funds will be returned in this case.

If for any reason it is established that an underage person or void entry has won a prize then the following procedure will be adhered to: If a situation arises that one of the weekly prize winners is under the age of 18 years, the Head of the Lottery will address this issue and explain that it is against our policy to gamble under the age of 18 and that their prize is therefore void. If upon winning, any individual unable to prove that they are 18 or over, any stake will be returned to the individual concerned. All winning positions below this void prize in the list of winners will now be moved upwards. This may result in some prizes increasing in value. The members who now have an increased prize value will be sent an additional cheque and written explanation. Moving all the prize positions below the void winner up one position will eventually leave the last position unfilled. In this instance the last remaining prize and position would be treated as a general donation to the charity which the “under age” individual was supporting.

Such an occurrence will constitute a reportable incident and will be reported to all Responsible Persons, Chief Executive, Gambling Commission and each associated hospice or charity partner.

Gambling and you

Please play responsibly.

Make a smile lottery imposes a limit on the number of entries into our lottery that can be purchased by an individual.

If you want to have a break from gambling you can find out information on our self-exclusion page or email us at hello@makeasmilelottery.org.uk with your name, address and membership number(s). We will then close your membership(s) for a minimum period of six months, during which time it will not be possible for the account(s) to be re-opened for any reason.

If you are worried about online gambling, 'site blockers' are available to download. There are links from the Be Gamble Aware website to some of these available services (please note these 'site blockers' are not endorsed by, nor have been tested by make a smile lottery).

We will provide any player 3 years history of their lottery membership, including complete payment and winnings history, upon request.

Tips to help you Gamble safely

• Don’t think of gambling as a way to make money – winning is not assured so it is not an income.

• Only gamble with money that you can afford to lose – don’t use money set aside to pay bills, rent, for food, etc.

• Don’t borrow money to gamble.

• Set a money limit and stick to it.

• Set a time limit and stick to it.

• Never chase losses – if you lose money, never try to get it back by going over your limit.

• Don’t gamble when you are depressed, upset or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

• Balance gambling with other activities – family, work, sleep, socialising, sport, hobbies, etc.

Problem gambling

BeGambleAware is administered and funded by the Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT), an independent national charity. It recognises that the following signs may indicate a gambling problem:

• Spending more money and time on gambling than you can afford.

• Finding it hard to manage or stop your gambling.

• Having arguments with family or friends about money and gambling.

• Losing interest in usual activities or hobbies like going out with friends or spending time with family.

• Always thinking or talking about gambling.

• Lying about your gambling or hiding it from other people.

• Chasing losses or gambling to get out of financial trouble.

• Gambling until all of your money is gone.

• Borrowing money, selling possessions or not paying bills in order to pay for gambling.

• Needing to gamble with larger amounts of money or for a longer time to get the same feeling of excitement or buzz.

• Neglecting work, school, family, personal needs or household responsibilities because of gambling.

• Feeling anxious, worried, guilty, depressed or irritable.

Help and support

Make a smile lottery is wholly owned by St Helena which is a member of the Hospice Lotteries Association, who on behalf of their members makes a financial contribution towards the Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT), a leading charity in Britain committed to minimising gambling-related harm. As an independent national charity funded by donations from the gambling industry, RGT funds education, prevention and treatment services and commissions research to broaden public understanding of gambling-related harm. The aim is to stop people getting into problems with their gambling, and ensure those that do develop problems receive fast and effective treatment and support.

If you have problems with gambling, or know someone who does, the following organisations may help.

National Gambling Helpline - Call free phone 0808 8020 133 (open 8am to midnight, 7 days a week).

BeGambleAware aims to promote responsibility in gambling. It provides information to help people make informed decisions about their gambling. It will help you to find out more about gambling and what responsible gambling means, to understand and recognise problem gambling, and show you where to go for further information, help and support should you need it.

Site blockers - If you are worried about online gambling then you can download a 'site blocker' such as Gamblock or Netnanny, which can block access to online gambling sites. There is likely to be a cost for these services.

GamCare provides information, advice, support and free counselling for the prevention and treatment of problem gambling. GamCare aims to make it less likely for people to become problem gamblers, and easier for those who do experience problems to get the help they need. This is done by funding treatment services, by commissioning and supporting research on problem gambling, and through education and awareness programmes.

Self Exclusion

An instruction to be self-excluded, as defined in the Gambling Act 2005, from the Lottery draws may be submitted by reading the steps here, or please contact us.

People wishing to use this facility will not be able to re-join the lottery for a minimum of 6 months from the date of exclusion.

If you are currently paying by standing order you will also need to contact your bank and cancel your subscription immediately. Any monies outstanding on your lottery membership account will be refunded to you.

Any financial credit will be returned to you within 1 week of the self exclusion.

Please visit gamcare.org.uk for responsible gambling support and read our commitment to responsible gambling and we would encourage you to read our Responsible Gambling section above.

9. OTHER

Complaints and Disputes

Please do contact us if you have any cause for complaint and we will help in any way to resolve this quickly.

All complaints and disputes will be dealt with in accordance with our Complaints and Disputes Policy. You can read our complaints procedure here.

As we are a member of the Lotteries Council and Hospice Lotteries Association, if a complaint cannot be resolved, it will be referred to IBAS who are an approved Alternative Disputes Resolution entity.

Fundraising Staff

Representatives of make a smile lottery and agencies we work with go out to events and retail premises and call on households in the communities served by the causes we support, to raise awareness about our fundraising lottery. Their photos can be found here.

We also use a telesales agency, the names of the callers can be found here.

All our representatives will have official identification on them - please ask to see this and ask any questions you may have. Please contact us if you have any questions or want to confirm the identity of somebody.

Modifications to these Terms and Conditions

We reserve the right to amend or modify these terms and conditions in a ‘minor’ way without notice.

When we do this we will publicise this on our website and social media.

We will communicate these changes via our website. If you object to these changes, you can terminate your membership at any time.

Third Parties

We use a number of third parties to help us carry out our service, please contact us if you require more information.

In the event of Insolvency

Any future advance payments that a supporter has made are not covered and a supporter will not be able to access these funds.

10. GIFT MEMBERSHIPS

Lottery Gift Membership

A Lottery Gift Membership can be purchased on behalf of another player. The membership will be in the name of the giftee, so you will need to provide their full name, date of birth, email address and postal address in order for this to be processed. This will be processed over the phone and you choose which cause that is to be supported. You can purchase 3 subscriptions- Annual = £52, Biannual = £26 and Quarterly = £13. If you are keen to purchase a gift for your loved one, please call us on 0300 303 4500. Please note that this is non-refundable. Any winnings will belong to the player the gift is bought for and not the person purchasing the gift. All recipients have to be 18+.

11. Play & Save

What is it?

The Play & Save Reward Card is a loyalty program offered by make a smile lottery to our loyal lottery players. Players are offered discounts on products and services at retailers and service providers. Make a smile lottery players can take advantage of all the offers, regardless of where in the country they are. Access to the scheme is free.

Who gets access to it?

Play & Save details are emailed to all loyal lottery players. Those players who play with us regularly, this will be emailed to you within 2 weeks of you joining the lottery with us. It will then be resent to you annually, as long as you are playing with us, for use over the next 12 months.

We only send Play & Save details and an e-card via email so please ensure that we have your email address (do check your junk folder).

Details of offers are signposted to lottery players via email, with offers being updated on the make a smile lottery website regularly. This may mean that offers are added or taken away, at our discretion. If you would like a copy of these terms and conditions please contact us on 0300 303 4500 or hello@makeasmilelottery.org.uk

By using the program, you accept and agree to be bound by these Play & Save conditions.

The Play & Save is solely for the supporters use and is non transferrable.

Suspension Rights

If a company offering a discount determines that a supporter has abused any of the Program’s privileges, the company may cease to provide the offer, at their discretion.

Should make a smile lottery determine that a supporter has abused the reward scheme, we may at our sole discretion, take such actions as it deems appropriate, including without limitation, suspending such supporter’s privileges under the Program, or revoking the supporter’s membership in the Program, in each case, with or without advance notice to the supporter and without liability to make a smile lottery.

Other

Make a smile lottery are not responsible for any errors or omissions in printed or digital copies of the Play & Save discounts and offers.

Due to the size of the pdf of offers available, and the cost to print (we want as much money to go back to good causes as possible), we are emailing the Play & Save card and linking to the discount codes. If you don’t have an email and would prefer to receive this by post, please contact us to let us know.

If you have any feedback about the Play & Save rewards, please do contact us.

ANY QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions about anything in these Terms and Conditions, please contact us.

makeasmilelottery.org.uk
0300 303 4500
hello@makeasmilelottery.org.uk

Our privacy policy can be viewed here.

If you would like a copy of these terms and conditions, please contact us.

(updated 01/04/2022)