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selling alcohol


Noir

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"If you must sell alcohol, do not under any circumstances have tills, cash boxes etc behind your bar! Have a separate bar from which tickets are purchased which can then be exchanged for drinks nearby. This is to exploit a legal loophole where you do not need a license to give away alcohol as a raffle prize. Technically when someone buys a ticket they are entering a raffle which they then automatically win, the prize being one drink."

is that true?

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Guest DustyDeviada

Yeah, I've seen it done before as well.

To be honest, I think it's all down to scale. If you were doing this at a fundraiser at a village hall or something then I doubt the council licensing department are likely to find out and come and shut you down, or even if you were just operating a cash bar as a one off.

But if Espionage or something started having a "raffle" every night I don't think it would last very long.

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First things first, it's against the law to operate a raffle unless you're licenced to do so. It might not be as severe as selling alcohol unlicenced, but you'd still risk getting the raffle closed down and the 'prizes' confiscated. Then you've got the issue of supplying drink to underagers - even one underager served and you could be in a lot of trouble, especially with the Scottish Executive making quite a big fuss lately about it. Then add on the fact that getting found guilty of supplying alcohol without a licence can completely fuck you up - your odds of getting an SIA licence or a licence to sell alcohol would be incredibly slim after such a prosecution.

All it takes is one narky copper - is it worth supplying the alcohol when compared to the potential risks? Incidentally, Strathclyde police (at least, no idea about Grampian) don't have an issue with people consuming their own purchased alcohol at some sort of event provided they purchase it and transport it onto the site personally, subject to any local drinking by-laws.

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Yes, it is/was more or less true. We used it quite a lot in the past at smallish parties up glens & things. Only a few hundred - Small enough to not need any other form of licencing at the time. Police/councils don't generally care one hoot about it.

There is a legal difference between a "game of skill" & a raffle - I don't think you needed a licence at the time for that.

As for big events using this system, you would be surprised how many don't bother to get a drinks licence. For a small thing, fine but IMO, it is just taking the piss for a big event to try & get away with it, especially as they have to get all sorts of other licencing sorted. IMO, it also encourages much of the sort of alcohol-related misbehaviour that the very licencing system tries to avoid - as well as ripping-off punters big time. How often have you seen folk in quite a state trying their best to drink-up the beer tokens before the validity runs-out?

However, the legal position has been turned on its head since then & I wouldn't bank on that info still being current.

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