Council stops resident from raffling house in breach of gambling laws

A London borough has stopped a resident from raffling their home in breach of the gambling laws.

Blackheath resident Renu Qadri intended to raffle her home, which has been valued at £1.3m, at £5 a ticket because illness made it no longer suitable for her.

She is now working with the Royal Borough of Greenwich to try to find a way to resume the raffle, which she halted after the council objected.

A Greenwich statement said: “[The council] welcomes the withdrawal of this raffle after our alerting the resident to possible contravention of the Gambling Act 2005.”

Ms Qadri’s website carried a statement that said the raffle had been cancelled and purchasers would be refunded.

She added: “We are working with the local council and the Gambling Commission to get the raffle reinstated.”

Mark Smulian