The opportunity to win a house on the Isle of Wight in a raffle for a £25 ticket has fallen through and anyone hoping to win a share of the accrued money pot is out of luck too thanks to the UK Gambling Act.

Suzanne Ravell the owner of Firholme (pictured), a Victorian property in Totland, launched her competition/raffle earlier this year to win a beautiful house on the Isle of Wight  and spent a lot of money in creating a website and of course ensuring the legalities of the competition were adhered to.

As such she had published a statement on the Raffle My Bricks website to let everyone know why she has had to close the competition (see below).

The Gambling Commission are taking a closer look at all of the properties being offered online in this way and are warning anyone setting up win a house style competitions that they will run the risk of breaching The Gambling Act 2005.

Suzanne is not alone as others who have also offered up their homes in the same way such as Simon & Vicky Brown of Fellows Hall, Barwick have followed the lead of the very popular Wilshaws, Devon Estate have released statements highlighting the hiatus.

As well as the prize on offer, the competition was afforded quite a bit of publicity and Suzanne was in constant contact with the gambling commission to ensure the competition was run correctly.

The Gambling Commission are concerned at just how much skill is required to enter these kind of competitions, and it’s generally felt that organisers are pushing the definition of skill right to the limit.

As Suzanne states on the Raffle My Bricks website:

I am sorry to inform you all that I have recently been contacted by the Gambling Competition.

They are of the opinion that the evidence I have presented them with is insufficient to show that a significant proportion of people have been prohibited from entering or prevented from winning a prize in accordance with the Gambling Act.

Unfortunately, there is no actual definition of this requirement within the Act or in any form whatsoever in relation to competitions. Although the Gambling Commission admit this I have no option but to stop unless I want to go to the effort and uncertainty of letting a judge decide the issue at court. I do not have the resources or inclination to do take the matter to court and so I must stop.

Despite the fact a proportion of money has been spent on the mini-draw, running the competition and advertising, I will of course pay everyone back within a reasonable period of time.

I am truly sorry that I will not be able to carry out the draw and award the pot to anyone.

With respect to my house, I will be selling this in the normal manner in the new year and if anyone is genuinely interested please contact me by email in the first instance.

Thank you all for entering and for the kind emails I have received during the course of the competition. I am truly sorry for the disappointment and inconvenience that this causes to you all. 

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Island Pulse related Links Mini Draw Winner @ Raffle My Bricks