SIR,
Few people are as naive and trusting as I am but even I should have realised that to run a prize draw which aimed to raise £5000 for Help for Heroes would require some form of regulation - after all what would have stopped me absconding to Australia with the proceeds? It did not even occur to me until I ordered the tickets, when I was informed by the very knowlegeable Mr Clarke exactly what had to be printed on them - including the licence number granted by Monmouthshire County Council.
After much confusion and delay in my communications with MCC, I filled in the application form, paid the money and carried on gaily collecting prizes, expecting the granting of the licence to be a mere formality.
Then the bombshell - the licence could only be granted by Wiltshire County Council since the HQ of Help for Heroes is in Tidworth. Also Help for Heroes had to apply for the licence - which they refused to do, after a week of my pleas and tears.
Looking at it objectively now I can understand their reasons - once they had a lottery licence number anyone could use it to print tickets and run a draw in their name and they would not need to know anything about it - nor would they necessarily receive any funds from it.
So a big thank you to all the businesses in Monmouth and beyond who have generously donated prizes. Some such as the cash vouchers will be returned to the donors, other prizes I will try to use in charitable auctions to raise money for the same cause, if the donors agree.
All will receive a letter from H4H, apologising for not having informed me when I told them I was planning a draw that I would need a licence from them. It seems we were all ignorant of the laws governing lotteries which are quite complex.
The whole experience has been a steep learning curve for me and I hope reading my tale of woe will be a useful lesson for other would-be fundraisers. Whatever you try to do, there will probably be a regulation to hold you in check so check it out before you start!
Cerys Atkins
(Monmouth)