Do I need a permit to organize an association loto in France?

No. A traditional loto needs no prior authorization as long as it stays within article L.322-4 of the Internal Security Code: restricted circle, social, cultural, sporting, educational or humanitarian cause, stakes under €20 and never cash prizes (see the question on online lotos). A few steps still apply: • tell your insurer, to cover the event, volunteers and participants; • declare any music played to SACEM; • for a bar, apply to the town hall for a temporary drinks licence at least 15 days ahead (5 per year per association); • book the hall, often through the town hall. The guide “How to organize an association loto” covers each step.

Is a player breaking the law by taking part in an online loto?

Article L. 324-1 of the Internal Security Code punishes whoever runs illegal gambling or has it run. It does not provide a penalty for a player who buys a card: the organizing association bears the risk. Association lotos are played in a hall: the LotoAsso agenda lists the lotos near you.

Can a hall loto also welcome remote players?

No. Neither the ministerial answer of 20 January 2026 nor service-public.gouv.fr makes an exception for hybrid formats. According to service-public.gouv.fr, a traditional loto “must be held in person” and “cannot be held online or remotely”.

Does a ministerial answer have the force of law?

No. It does not bind the courts, but it gives the government’s official reading. For traditional lotos to be played online, the law would have to change.

What prizes can be given away at an association loto?

Prizes must be in kind: never cash, although non-refundable vouchers are allowed. Household appliances, tech, gift hampers, vouchers from local shops, short breaks, show tickets… They can be bought by the association or donated by local sponsors in exchange for visibility. In LotoAsso, you enter prizes one by one or import them from Excel. During the loto, LotoAsso Live shows the prizes in play and your sponsors on screen. For ideas, see the Prize ideas page.

How much should loto cards cost?

For a traditional loto, the law requires stakes under €20. Many associations offer sliding prices that encourage buying several cards, for example €3 per card and €10 for 4. To set your prices, start from your costs (prizes, hall, printing, insurance, SACEM) and the number of players you expect. LotoAsso's profitability simulator, free and with no sign-up, calculates your profit and the minimum number of players needed to cover your costs. Don't forget bar takings, which are often significant.

Rules for association lotos in France

Key points

Traditional lotos are allowed
No prior authorization is needed if the loto meets the conditions of article L. 322-4 of the Internal Security Code^{(4, 11)}.
They are played in a hall
According to the Ministry of the Interior (Official Journal, 20 January 2026), running them online “is not compliant with the law”⁽¹⁾.
The association bears the risk
Using a remote loto service does not make the loto compliant: the organizer is answerable for it⁽⁵⁾.
Outside the rules, the game is illegal
The organizer faces up to 3 years in prison and a €90,000 fine⁽⁵⁾.

The five conditions of a traditional loto

Gambling is banned in principle in France (article L. 320-1 of the Internal Security Code)⁽²⁾. The traditional loto, also called quine, rifle or poule au gibier, is only allowed as an exception, when all five conditions are met^{(3, 4)}:

Question	What the law says
Who organizes it?	Someone who is not a gambling operator, such as an association.
With whom?	A restricted circle of participants.
For what?	A scientific, social, family, humanitarian, philanthropic, educational, sporting or cultural cause, animal welfare or environmental protection.
For how much?	Low stakes, under €20.
Which prizes?	Never cash, never refunded. Non-refundable gift vouchers are allowed⁽¹¹⁾.

When these conditions are met, the loto needs no prior authorization⁽¹¹⁾. The list of causes comes from the law of 15 April 2024 on volunteering and associations⁽⁷⁾, which aligned it with the list for raffles.

The restricted circle

This is the most debated condition, because the law does not define it. Case law reads it as “a community or group of people connected with the organizer of the loto and in particular, when the organizer is an association, with the purpose of that association”. This definition from the Orléans Court of Appeal (5 February 2013) is quoted by the Court of Cassation (25 June 2014)⁽⁶⁾, in a case about hall lotos open to everyone.

The French National Gaming Authority (ANJ) assesses it case by case: lotos “of a certain scale whose organization betrays a profit motive”⁽⁹⁾ cannot rely on the exception. The official website for associations adds that the audience “must not be clearly out of proportion with the local nature of the event”⁽¹⁰⁾.

Online lotos are not allowed

On 3 December 2024, MP Corentin Le Fur asked the Minister of the Interior to “reassure the organizers of traditional online lotteries” (written question no. 2417). The answer, published in the Official Journal on 20 January 2026, goes the other way:

Running the traditional lotteries defined in article L. 322-4 of the CSI online is not compliant with the law.

Ministry of the Interior, Official Journal, 20 January 2026, p. 353⁽¹⁾

The Ministry’s reasoning

Gambling is banned in principle: lotos are only allowed because the law makes an exception⁽²⁾.
That exception covers the “traditional” loto, within a restricted circle: a “condition hardly compatible with an online operation open to the general public”⁽¹⁾.
When the law allows a game online, it says so expressly: sports betting, horse-race betting, poker. It does not do so for traditional lotos⁽³⁾.

The official website service-public.gouv.fr is just as clear: “A traditional loto must be held in person. It cannot be held online or remotely, in particular over the internet or by video conference.”⁽¹¹⁾

Formats concerned

draws streamed live on Facebook, YouTube or by video call, for players at home;
turnkey “at-home” lotos offered by service providers;
hybrid formats where some players take part remotely: no text makes an exception for them.

What about the FDJ Loto, played online? It is a different game: a lottery run by the Française des Jeux under exclusive rights, for which the Code allows online operation⁽³⁾.

Turnkey at-home lotos: the association bears the risk

Some services offer associations an at-home loto: players buy their cards online and print them, follow the draw live on the internet, get a phone call if they win and receive their prize at home. Some state that they are only a service provider: the association becomes the named organizer, collects the money and pays for the service.

This set-up does not change the nature of the game: the loto is still played remotely, which the Ministry considers non-compliant⁽¹⁾. The organizer, so the association, is answerable for meeting article L. 322-4⁽⁴⁾. A provider’s assurance that its loto is compliant does not protect it.

Penalties

A loto that does not meet the conditions of article L. 322-4 loses the exception: it becomes illegal gambling again⁽²⁾. Article L. 324-1 of the Internal Security Code punishes “carrying out or having carried out” such operations⁽⁵⁾. It covers whoever runs the game and whoever has someone else run it.

3 years: in prison
€90,000: fine
7 years: and €200,000 for organized groups

LotoAsso, built for lotos in a hall

The ministerial answer targets games run online. It says nothing about digital tools used during a loto played on site. Our reading, which we apply to our own tools: digital tools can make a hall loto easier, they must not replace it.

Liveruns the draw on the hall’s projection screen.
Playlets players in the hall follow the draw on their phone: they join by scanning the QR code shown in the hall, and to win, they call out.
Scanchecks tickets at the hall entrance.
Agendaan organizer who submits a loto without an account certifies that it is a traditional loto held in a hall, not an online loto.

Like any tool provider, LotoAsso does not organize any loto and is not a gambling operator: the association remains the organizer and is responsible for following the rules.

Is your loto within the rules?

Before launching your loto, check these six points:

the loto is played in a hall, with players present;
it is organized by your association, or by another body that is not a gambling operator;
it serves a cause allowed by law: social, cultural, sporting, educational, humanitarian…;
the audience stays connected to the association and its area;
stakes stay under €20;
no prize is cash and none is refunded (non-refundable gift vouchers are fine).

Frequently asked questions about the rules

Do I need a permit to organize an association loto in France?
No. A traditional loto needs no prior authorization as long as it stays within article L.322-4 of the Internal Security Code: restricted circle, social, cultural, sporting, educational or humanitarian cause, stakes under €20 and never cash prizes (see the question on online lotos). A few steps still apply: • tell your insurer, to cover the event, volunteers and participants; • declare any music played to SACEM; • for a bar, apply to the town hall for a temporary drinks licence at least 15 days ahead (5 per year per association); • book the hall, often through the town hall. The guide “How to organize an association loto” covers each step.
Is a player breaking the law by taking part in an online loto?
Article L. 324-1 of the Internal Security Code punishes whoever runs illegal gambling or has it run. It does not provide a penalty for a player who buys a card: the organizing association bears the risk. Association lotos are played in a hall: the LotoAsso agenda lists the lotos near you.
Can a hall loto also welcome remote players?
No. Neither the ministerial answer of 20 January 2026 nor service-public.gouv.fr makes an exception for hybrid formats. According to service-public.gouv.fr, a traditional loto “must be held in person” and “cannot be held online or remotely”.
Does a ministerial answer have the force of law?
No. It does not bind the courts, but it gives the government’s official reading. For traditional lotos to be played online, the law would have to change.
What prizes can be given away at an association loto?
Prizes must be in kind: never cash, although non-refundable vouchers are allowed. Household appliances, tech, gift hampers, vouchers from local shops, short breaks, show tickets… They can be bought by the association or donated by local sponsors in exchange for visibility. In LotoAsso, you enter prizes one by one or import them from Excel. During the loto, LotoAsso Live shows the prizes in play and your sponsors on screen. For ideas, see the Prize ideas page.
How much should loto cards cost?
For a traditional loto, the law requires stakes under €20. Many associations offer sliding prices that encourage buying several cards, for example €3 per card and €10 for 4. To set your prices, start from your costs (prizes, hall, printing, insurance, SACEM) and the number of players you expect. LotoAsso's profitability simulator, free and with no sign-up, calculates your profit and the minimum number of players needed to cover your costs. Don't forget bar takings, which are often significant.