Social Responsibility Guidelines

1. Our commitment toward responsible gambling

West Herts Hospitals Charity is committed to ensuring that information about how to gamble responsibly and how to access information or help with problem gambling is readily available to all.

As part of our commitment to responsible gambling, we only allow any one person to purchase a maximum of ten tickets for this draw. Please participate in a socially responsible way.

2. Fair and open draws policy

The draw takes place every Saturday and results are published every Saturday at 17:45 GMT
on the website – https://whhc.org.uk/hospital-lotto/lotto-results. There will be five draws
every month. In months with only four Fridays: Tickets are issued on the following
Tuesday, and the draw is held on Wednesday. Results of the additional draw will be
published on those Wednesdays at 17:45 GMT on the website.

3. Complaints procedure

Any complaints regarding our raffles and lotteries can be made directly to the Society by contacting us at westherts.hospitalscharity@nhs.net or call 01923 436 182.. Please provide your name, contact information and
the nature of your complaint.
– A response to the initial complaint or query will be provided within two working days of receipt of the complaint or query. We will respond in full to your complaint within eight weeks of receiving it.
– If the complaint is not satisfactorily resolved, the matter will be escalated in accordance with this policy.
– Each complaint will be taken seriously and fully investigated in order that a satisfactory resolution can be achieved.
– In the event that a satisfactory outcome has not been reached, in accordance with the agreed protocol arranged on behalf of members by the Lotteries Council the complaint will be referred to The Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS), which acts as an impartial adjudicator on disputes that arise between gambling operators and their customers
– The individual who raised the complaint will be provided with IBAS referral details
– The outcome of the IBAS intervention will be reported to the Gambling Commission

4. Responsible gambling / Problem gambling procedure

– Any individual can ask to be removed from our database so they do not receive further
emails regarding raffles or lotteries
– If you are having a problem, then you can ask to be excluded from the site
There is also software that blocks access to all online gambling sites. See
www.gamblock.com or www.netnanny.com for more details
If you would like to exclude yourself from this lottery and our future lotteries, contact us via
the link below:
https://whhc.org.uk/hospital-lotto/self-exclusion-form
If you would like more information or help and advice from a gambling support agency,
please visit www.gambleaware.co.uk

Gambling in moderation is okay, but problem gambling can take over your life.
Remembering the following will help to keep gambling in check:
– You are buying for fun and helping a charity, not investing money
– Set strict limits on how much time and money you are going to spend, and only gamble
what you can afford to lose
– Quit while you are ahead, and don’t chase your losses
– Do not gamble to escape from stress or boredom, and keep up other interests and
hobbies
– If you are concerned about your own gambling, or that of a friend or relative, then the
following questions may offer you some help and guidance. Answering yes to some of
these questions does not necessarily make you a problem gambler but may indicate a
problem:
– Do you sometimes spend more money and time on gambling than you can afford
to?
– Do you find it hard to stop or manage your gambling?
– Do you have arguments with family or friends about money and gambling?
– Do you always think or talk about gambling?
– Do you lie about gambling or hide it from other people?
– Do you chase losses or gamble to get out of financial trouble?
– Do you gamble until all of your money is gone?
– Do you borrow money, sell possessions or do not pay bills in order to pay for
gambling?
– Do you need to gamble with larger amounts of money or for a longer time to get
the same feeling of excitement or buzz?
– Do you neglect work, school, family, personal needs or household responsibilities
because of gambling?
– Do you feel anxious, worried, guilty, depressed or irritable because of gambling?
– Do you consider or have considered an illegal act to finance your gambling?
– Do you gamble to escape worry, trouble, boredom or loneliness?
– Do you have difficulty sleeping because of gambling?
– Visit www.gambleaware.co.uk for more information and advice.

5. Remote gambling

– Remote gambling includes gambling online, by interactive television or by mobile
phone
– The advice below is designed to help anyone gambling remotely:
– Keep track of the time that you spend playing
– Keep track of the amount you spend playing – remind yourself that it is real
money
– Avoid chasing your losses
– If you are a parent, keep your password safe and consider using software to
block access to gambling sites from minors.
– You can find further information on blocking software here:
www.gamcare.org.uk/self-help/blocking-software
– Look for sites with options where you can set your own spend and session limits,
which can help you to control your gambling

To exclude yourself from gambling related products and activities from West Herts Hospitals Charity, please complete the online gambling exclusion form or contact us at westherts.hospitalscharity@nhs.net or call 01923 436 182.

6. Problem gambling

Gambling in moderation is okay, but problem gambling can take over your life. Remembering the following will help to keep gambling in check:

• You are buying for fun and helping a charity, not investing money
• Set strict limits on how much time and money you are going to spend, and only gamble what you can afford to lose
• Quit while you are head, and don’t chase your losses
• Do not gamble to escape from stress or boredom and keep up other interests and hobbies
• If you are concerned about your own gambling, or that of a friend or relative, then the following questions may offer you some help and guidance. Answering yes to some of these questions does not necessarily make you a problem gambler but may indicate a problem:
• Do you sometimes spend more money and time on gambling than you can afford to?
• Do you find it hard to stop or manage your gambling?
• Do you have arguments with family or friends about money and gambling?
• Do you always think or talk about gambling?
• Do you lie about gambling or hide it from other people?
• Do you chase losses or gamble to get out of financial trouble?
• Do you gamble until all of your money is gone?
• Do you borrow money, sell possessions or do not pay bills in order to pay for gambling?
• Do you need to gamble with larger amounts of money or for a longer time to get the same feeling of excitement or buzz?
• Do you neglect work, school, family, personal needs or household responsibilities because of gambling?
• Do you feel anxious, worried, guilty, depressed or irritable because of gambling
• Do you consider or have considered and illegal act to finance your gambling?
• Do you gamble to escape worry, trouble, boredom or loneliness?
• Do you have difficulty sleeping because of gambling?
• Visit www.gambleaware.co.uk for more information and advice.

7. Self-exclusion form

Anyone who is concerned their gambling may be becoming a problem can request to be temporarily excluded from all our gambling activities. By law, a customer who has made contact to request self-exclusion will be refused service and prevented from gambling with our charity Lotto for a minimum of six months.

If an individual is self-excluded, they will not be able to take part in any of our lotteries or draws and they will not receive any gambling related marketing from us.

After the self-exclusion period ends, if the individual wishes to recommence participating in any of the lotteries promoted by us, they must request in writing that they wish to be removed from the self-exclusion register.

To exclude yourself from gambling related products and activities from West Herts Hospitals Charity, click here or contact us at westherts.hospitalscharity@nhs.net or call 01923 436 182.