Play responsibly

1. Our commitment

Garforth Brass (registered charity 1116537) promotes the Garforth Brass Lotteryas a small society lottery. We are a band, not a gambling business, and we want the lottery to stay what it is meant to be: a pound a week from people who like what we do. Nobody should be playing more than they can comfortably afford, and nobody should be playing who is under 18. This page sets out how we try to keep it that way, the tools available to you, and where to find free, confidential help if gambling has stopped being fun — for you or someone you know.

We keep our marketing measured. We will not tell you that playing is the best way to support the band (a donation is just as welcome), we will not use pressure or urgency, and we will not market the lottery to anyone who has asked us to stop.

2. Age restriction — 18 and over only

Every part of the lottery — buying an entry, holding a subscription, being paid a prize — is restricted to people aged 18 or over. When you enter you must actively confirm that you are 18 or older; the box is never pre-ticked. Before any prize is paid we verify the winner’s age and identity, normally by asking for a copy of photographic ID and, where necessary, proof of address.

If we discover that an entry was made by someone under 18, the entry is void, the stake is returned, and any prize is withheld and applied to the band’s charitable work. Where an adult has knowingly bought entries on behalf of a minor, we may refuse further entries from that person.

3. Staying in control

Practical tools that keep the lottery a small, fixed part of your budget:

• Set a budget first. Decide what you are happy to spend on supporting the band each week or month and keep to it. A single £1 entry a week is a perfectly good way to play.
• Entry limits. We cap entries at 10 per person per draw and will not accept more, whatever the reason.
• Take a break. Email support@garforthbrassband.co.uk and ask us to pause your subscription for a set period — a month, three months, six — and we will not restart it or contact you about the lottery until that period has passed.
• Cancel any time. Subscriptions can be cancelled by email or through the link in any subscription message, free of charge and with no notice period. Cancellations received before the midnight on Tuesday cut-off take effect from that week’s draw.
• Close your account. Ask us and we will end your subscription, delete your marketing preferences and keep only the records the law requires us to hold.

4. Self-exclusion

You can exclude yourself from the Garforth Brass Lottery at any time by emailing support@garforthbrassband.co.uk and asking to self-exclude. We will:

• cancel any subscription immediately and refuse all new entries from you;
• stop every form of lottery marketing to you;
• keep the exclusion in place for a minimum of six months, or longer if you ask (up to five years);
• keep a record of the exclusion for as long as it lasts, precisely so it can be enforced;
• only lift it after the chosen period has ended and you have asked us in writing to lift it, with a 24-hour cooling-off period before any new entry is accepted.

GAMSTOP. GAMSTOP is the free national self-exclusion scheme covering online gambling operators licensed by the Gambling Commission. Because the Garforth Brass Lottery is a small society lottery registered with the local licensing authority rather than a Commission-licensed remote operator, registering with GAMSTOP does not automatically exclude you from this lottery — please use our own process above for that. GAMSTOP remains a powerful tool for excluding yourself from GB-licensed online gambling more widely: gamstop.co.uk.

Blocking tools. Gamban blocks gambling websites and apps across your devices, and most UK banks now offer a gambling block on debit cards that you can switch on in your banking app.

5. Signs it may be becoming a problem

Gambling can stop being fun quietly. It may be worth talking to someone if you notice that you are:

• spending more than you planned, or buying more entries to make up for earlier ones;
• chasing losses, or feeling that a win is “due”;
• hiding how much you play from family or friends;
• borrowing money, or using money meant for bills, to play;
• playing to escape stress, boredom or low mood;
• feeling anxious, irritable or guilty about gambling.

None of these makes anyone a bad person. They are the moment to reach for support.

6. Where to get help

All of the organisations below are free, confidential and independent of us.

7. Protecting people at risk

If a family member, friend or support worker contacts us with a concern about someone’s play, we will listen, treat the conversation confidentially, and — while we cannot exclude a person on a third party’s say-so — we will suspend marketing to them, review any unusual pattern of entries, and tell them how to self-exclude. We do not market the lottery to anyone who has self-excluded or asked us to stop, and we do not target marketing at people we have reason to think are vulnerable.

Committee members involved in running the draw are briefed on this policy and on how to spot and refer concerns. The policy is reviewed each year at the AGM.

8. Complaints about the lottery

Please raise any complaint about the lottery with the committee first at support@garforthbrassband.co.uk. We aim to acknowledge complaints within five working days and respond fully within twenty. If you remain unhappy, a small society lottery is regulated locally: you may refer the matter to the licensing authority, Leeds City Council (registration no. LCC/SL/0247). Full details are in the lottery terms. Concerns about fundraising more generally can be taken to the Fundraising Regulator — see our contact page.