Frequently asked questions

A charity lottery, also called a society lottery, is a lottery run by a non-profit organisation to raise money for its work. The Shore Kirk Weekly Lottery is a small society lottery registered with Argyll and Bute Council under the Gambling Act 2005. At least 20% of the money raised must, by law, go to the church's purposes; we commit 40%.

Each entry costs £1 per weekly draw. You can have 1, 2, 3, 5 or 10 entries. We collect payment monthly for the number of Friday draws in that month, so most months you pay for four draws and some months for five. One entry costs £4 or £5 a month.

Email [email protected] or write to the Lottery Office with your name, postcode and lottery number. Reductions take effect from your next payment. Increases take effect after a 7-day cooling-off period, and nobody can hold more than 10 entries a week.

Your lottery numbers are in the welcome email we sent when you joined (subject line: 'Your Shore Kirk Lottery numbers'). Check your junk folder. If you still cannot find them, email [email protected] with your full name and postcode and we will resend them. For your security we never give lottery numbers out over social media.

No. Prizes are paid automatically into the bank account you pay from, within 10 working days of the draw. We also email you to let you know. If we cannot pay you, we will write to you.

The full rules are in our terms and conditions. In short: you must be 18 or over and live in Great Britain, each entry costs £1 a week, the draw is every Friday at 8pm, there are no rollovers, and half of all money taken is paid out in prizes.

You can cancel at any time by emailing [email protected], writing to the Lottery Office or telling us in person. You can also cancel a Direct Debit with your bank. Any draws you have paid for but which have not yet taken place are refunded in full.

You can take a break for 1 week, 1 month or 3 months, or self-exclude for 6 months, 1 year, 2 years or 5 years. During that time we stop your entries and payments and will not let you rejoin. See self-exclusion for the full details.

Every Friday at 8pm. Results are published on our Prizes and draws page by 12 noon on Saturday.

Anyone aged 18 or over who lives in Great Britain (England, Scotland or Wales). Members of the Kirk Session who oversee the draw, and the Lottery Promoter, may not play.

No. Each player must sign up for themselves so that we can confirm they are 18 or over and that the lottery is right for them. You could make a donation in someone's name instead.

No. Every week's prize fund is paid out to that week's ten winners. Nothing is carried over.

Email [email protected] with your new details. For a new bank account, we will send you a link to set up a new Direct Debit with our payment provider.

Only to run the lottery, check your age, pay prizes and meet our legal duties. We never sell your data. See our privacy policy.

Please talk to someone. The National Gambling Helpline is free and open 24/7 on 0808 8020 133. You can also stop playing with us immediately; see responsible gambling.